Ghost From the Past
by iamthelie
Summary: In the middle of a case, a figure from Cameron's past arrives, creating complications and confusions in her life. ChaseCameron.
1. Ghost From the Past

**Ghost From the Past (1?)  
Rating:** PG-13 (I think)  
**Word Count:** 858  
**Disclaimer:** I own House. Um, right. That was a lie. I don't own anything. Except season 1 & 2 on DVD and my own insanity.  
**Summary:** In the middle of a case, a figure from Cameron's past arrives, creating complications and confusions in her life.  
**Author's Note:** As I said, this is my first House fanfic. The characters may be very, very OOC. It is possible. I have no medical experience, therefore anything I write is probably very wrong. I have no beta, so all mistakes are mine.  
cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

Ghosts weren't living people. They didn't breathe. Their hearts didn't beat. But when Cameron looked at the man, she paled like she had seen one. Her mouth opened a little, a gasp of surprise escaping her lips, and she stopped. Chase had been reading a file, and when she stopped, he bumped into her, sending the file skidding across the floor. He went to retrieve it, but Cameron's ghost picked it up first. He handed it back to Chase, his eyes never leaving Cameron.

"Allison," he said warmly, smiling at her fondly. If House had been standing there, not Chase, he would have made some sort of crack.

"Joe," Cameron whispered, staring at him. Other than that one word, she didn't seem capable of speaking. Chase looked between the two of them. There was some sort of history here, a history that House would instantly butt into, but to Chase, it was tense, about as awkward as when House figured out that he and Cameron had slept together. He looked between Cameron and the mysterious ghost again.

"I'll go check on the labs," Chase said to Cameron, but she grabbed his arm, forcing him to stay. He glanced at her hand. Her knuckles were white.

"Joe, this is Chase," Cameron introduced them unnecessarily. He frowned, wondering why Cameron had chosen to introduce them when Joe's presence made her so uncomfortable. "Chase, this is Joe, my husband's best friend.

ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

_Husband?_ Chase was doing his own turn of staring. At first, he'd wondered about introducing them, but the word _husband_ overrode everything else. Cameron hadn't said anything about being married. Chase might have been weak, but if he had known that she was married… Why hadn't Cameron sought out her husband that night? And if this was her husband's best friend, no wonder she looked like she'd seen a ghost.

"Robert Chase," he said, recovering enough to offer Joe his hand. Cameron was pretending nothing had happened, and he thought it best to do as well.

"Joe Stanton," he said, "You're one of the doctors in charge of my niece's case."

Cameron jerked, startled. "Elizabeth is your niece?"

"Yeah," he looked at her pleadingly, "can you tell me what's wrong with her?"

"Uh," Cameron began. She looked like finding out Elizabeth was Joe's niece was the worst thing that she could have heard. Having this man here had completely disconcerted her. She pursed her lips, searching for something to say other than _we have know idea what's wrong._

Chase looked down at the file. "Our current theory is a form of meningitis, but we're waiting on the results of her tests."

"But…Allison…She's so sick," Joe began, looking lost, "Is she—"

"She…she should be fine," Cameron stuttered. "We need to get those results. We'll let you know as soon as possible."

She ducked her head and started walking away. Chase followed her until Stanton's voice made her stop. "Allison, promise me you will take good care of her."

Cameron nodded. "I promise."

Chase was staring at her again. He had done it when they delivered the LP results. Surprisingly, House didn't notice, but then he was wrapped up in Elizabeth's case and arguing with Foreman. All the while, Chase stared at her. It was disconcerting enough then, but it was still happening now, while she, Chase, and Foreman gave Elizabeth an MRI. She wanted to ask him, but it was bad enough having Chase's eyes on her. If she asked…

She couldn't ask.

She also couldn't think about Joe. It wasn't easy to keep her mind off of him. Just knowing that he was in the hospital, possibly waiting up by Elizabeth's room, made her nervous. She had _seen_ him. He had been so close to her, close enough to touch. She had denied herself his touch years ago, and she couldn't ask for it now, not when his niece was their patient. They couldn't be what they had almost been.

She wasn't married anymore. She could date whom she pleased. She could sleep with whomever she pleased. She couldn't help looking at Chase when she thought that. She caught him staring and forced him to look away. Now she would have a few minutes of peace.

"Are you sure that you should stay on this case?" Chase asked.

She sighed, but it was partially out of relief. She knew why he was staring, so he would stop. "No. It's fine."

Foreman looked up. "Whoa. Why would you have to excuse yourself?"

"I know Elizabeth's uncle," Cameron said, studying the MRI. "It's not a problem. So don't tell House."

"Why should I bother?" Chase asked. "He'll find out anyway."

Foreman laughed. Cameron rolled her eyes. She looked at the screen. "It's clear. There's nothing here."

"There goes House's theory," Foreman muttered. "I'll go tell him."

Chase nodded. "I'll take Elizabeth back to her room."

He was up and out the door before Foreman got up. It was unlike Chase, but then she couldn't help but be grateful. If she went back with Foreman, she could avoid seeing Joe again. She wanted to see him.

But she didn't. She followed Foreman.


	2. Day Two

**Ghost From the Past (2?)  
Rating:** PG-13 (I think)  
**Word Count:** 1,526  
**Disclaimer:** I own House. Um, right. That was a lie. I don't own anything. Except season 1 & 2 on DVD and my own insanity.  
**Summary:** In the middle of a case, a figure from Cameron's past arrives, creating complications and confusions in her life.  
**Author's Note:** As I said, this is my first House fanfic. The characters may be very, very OOC. It is possible. I have no medical experience, therefore anything I write is probably very wrong. I have no beta, so all mistakes are mine. I'm also very vague about some stuff. I know. It's because I don't know enough to be specific.

cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

They were getting nowhere. Two days. Cameron could hear a clock ticking in the back of her head, even though there was no clock in the room. She could feel the time slipping away from them. She was edgy. She hadn't slept in thirty hours, which wasn't unusual when they were working a case, but adding to it Joe's presence in the hospital and the way that Chase kept staring at her was enough to push her over the edge. She was one step away from a breakdown.

Chase touched her shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?"

She jumped. Then she closed her eyes and cursed silently. "I'm fine."

"You're really tense," he said, not moving his hand. He set down the files in his other hand and put it on her shoulder, rubbing the muscles. In spite of herself, she moaned. Her whole back was sore, and this felt good. Still, she knew better than this. So did Chase. "Maybe you should go home, get some rest."

She smiled ruefully. "I wouldn't be able to sleep."

"You could get a drink, try and relax," he suggested. He picked the files back up. "You shouldn't have promised him. You are making it too hard to think because you're pushing yourself so that you don't break the promise."

Her good mood, a temporary euphoria from the massage, evaporated. "Chase—"

"Look, you're a good doctor. If you've got a fault, it's that you care too much. You were already involved with Elizabeth before you found out who her uncle is. You need a break, Cameron. Go home," he told her, walking away.

She stood and started after him. "If you think that my professional judgment is compromised, why aren't you going to House?"

"Because House will figure it out anyway, but also because I don't want you pulled off the case," Chase said over his shoulder. "I want you to get your act together. House isn't having one of his normal moments of brilliance. And we both know that if we save that girl it won't be because of anything I said or did."

He'd stopped to look at her when he said it, and she saw the vulnerability that Chase rarely showed anyone. She had an insane urge to grab him by the tie and kiss him. Maybe House was right. Maybe she liked to fix things—people—that were broken. She licked her lips, trying to find the nerve to speak.

"Chase," she began, having trouble swallowing. Why did he have to look at her like that? She couldn't think straight before, but with Chase looking at her like that and the memory of his touch during that brief massage—

"Allison, come quick! Something's wrong!" Joe's frantic voice broke the spell, and both she and Chase ran into the room.

"She's coding," Chase said, and the files were out of his hands, gone who knows where as he effortlessly assumed the role intensivist. She was by his side, reacting by instinct, but his calm in a crisis always impressed her. She followed his lead, accepting his orders as they brought Elizabeth back.

"She's stable," Chase announced, stepping back. He looked at Cameron. She sighed softly, but managed to smile. They had saved Elizabeth. _For now._

"You saved her," Cameron told him. She touched his arm, but he looked away.

"She went into arrest," he said, "and we still don't know what's wrong with her. I haven't saved anyone."

Chase walked away, leaving Cameron to explain to the family. It wasn't like him, not the way he'd been lately. He'd been careful to be the one interacting with Elizabeth's family, almost as if…_as if he was shielding her from having to interact with Joe._

She stopped in the middle of explaining to the family, stunned by the revelation. Why was Chase being so nice, acting so concerned?

"Allison?" Joe prompted.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "Elizabeth is stabilized. And this new symptom may help us find out what is causing her condition. Please excuse me. I need to meet with Dr. House and the others."

She hurried down the hall to the differential diagnosis room. Out of breath, she waited for someone to speak. House looked at her. "Nice of you to join us, Cameron. I trust you were assuring the family that we will come up with the answer?"

She glared at him. "They were worried. She went into arrest—"

"Ah, but _why _did she go into arrest?" House asked. "It wasn't the sight of Chase in his suit."

"I wasn't even in the room," Chase said.

"Not only that, but you look like crap. So does Cameron. I need to think. Go home. Get some sleep I don't need either of you killing any patients. Foreman, drive them home."

"Excuse me?" Foreman said, looking incredulous. Cameron looked at Chase. No one could really believe what they were hearing.

"You heard me," House answered. "I want to know that they went home. And I don't want them killing anyone on their way. Now, take them home. I can't use doctors that are too tired to think. Get out of here."

cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

Cameron rolled her eyes and followed the others out of the room.

"You don't really have to do this," Chase said, taking out his keys. Beside him, Cameron adjusted her purse on her shoulder. "We're both capable of driving ourselves home."

Foreman scoffed. "You think I don't know that? But House _will_ know if I don't."

"Are we back to being afraid of House?" Cameron asked; her words cut off by a yawn.

Foreman shrugged. "Does it really matter? Just get in the car."

Cameron groaned. Chase looked at her, silently recanting his words about her being capable of driving herself home. She swayed, about to fall asleep on her feet. He opened the door of Foreman's car and helped her into the back seat. She didn't even protest. That alone spoke volumes as to how tired she was. Foreman started to get in the driver's seat, then pointed to the passenger's side, motioning with his eyes. Chase walked around to the passenger's side and got in.

Foreman started the car and backed out of the lot. He drove out, turning onto the street. "Which one of you lives closer?"

Chase shrugged. "We're not that far apart, but your place is closer, right, Cameron? Cameron?"

He turned back to look at her. She was already asleep. He turned back to Foreman. "She's up on the left. Just after the light."

"Okay," Foreman said, expertly navigating them through the streets. He turned where Chase directed them, parking in Cameron's space. "Better wake her."

Chase leaned back and touched Cameron's knee, shaking her. She didn't respond, so he unbuckled himself and went around to her door. Opening it, he shook her, spoke loudly in her ear. She didn't stir. Foreman groaned.

"She's out cold. Hand me her purse," he said. Chase did, wrapping Cameron's arms around his neck as he lifted her into his arms. "Okay, I got her keys. Which apartment is it?"

"The first one on the right," Chase answered. He adjusted Cameron's position in his arms. Foreman closed the doors to the car and went to the door of the building, holding it open. Chase carried Cameron in, making his way to her apartment. Foreman outpaced him and reached the door.

"Which key is it?"

"I don't know," Chase said. "Just try them all."

"You don't know?"

"It was one time," Chase said angrily. "It's not like I have a bloody key to her place."

"Fine," Foreman muttered, checking the keys one at a time. The third key was the right one, and Foreman pushed the door open. Chase shifted Cameron, carrying her into the bedroom. She must have been in a hurry when she left the other day. The bed was unmade and there were clothes strewn about like she'd changed her mind about what she should wear. Chase laid her on the bed, over the rumpled sheets. He took off her shoes and unclipped her hair.

He covered her with the blanket and walked out of the room. Foreman was waiting for him. Smiling. Chase shot him a look. "What's with you?"

"Just you," Foreman said, shrugging. He was laughing silently.

Chase rolled his eyes and said nothing. He sat down on Cameron's couch for a minute. His whole body ached, and the thirty-two hours without sleep was catching up to him. "I wonder if she'd mind if I slept here."

Foreman looked at him and shrugged. "She might wake up and become disoriented. She won't remember how she got here."

"It won't be that bad," Chase said, leaning back. "It's her apartment. Once she realizes that, she'll be fine."

"All right. Then let's go," Foreman said, heading for the door.

"I'm coming," Chase assured him, but when he stood, the blood rushed to his head, and he stumbled, falling back on the couch. He put his hand to his forehead.

"Blood rush?" Foreman asked.

"I'm fine," Chase answered. It was the last thing that he heard himself say before he passed out.


	3. Complications

**Ghost From the Past (3?)  
Rating:** PG-13 (I think)  
**Word Count:** 1,348  
**Disclaimer:** I own House. Um, right. That was a lie. I don't own anything. Except season 1 & 2 on DVD and my own insanity.  
**Summary:** In the middle of a case, a figure from Cameron's past arrives, creating complications and confusions in her life.  
**Author's Note:** As I said, this is my first House fanfic. The characters may be very, very OOC. It is possible. I have no medical experience, therefore anything I write is probably very wrong. I have no beta, so all mistakes are mine. Some of this might be confusing. Hopefully, it will explain itself, even if not in this chapter...

cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

"They're late," House said, walking into the diagnostics room. Foreman looked up from the file on Elizabeth.

"What?"

"Chase and Cameron. Apparently they overslept," House said, walking to the board. He picked up the marker and underlined the first symptom twice. Foreman watched him. _Fatigue._

"We were all on for over thirty hours," Foreman protested. "Are you saying you think Chase and Cameron are coming down with what Elizabeth has?"

"No, I'm saying they're late," House said, picking up his ball. He bounced it a few times before looking at Foreman. "You _did_ drop them off at home, didn't you?"

"Yes," Foreman answered. House didn't need to know about Chase falling asleep on Cameron's couch. Or how Chase had taken care of Cameron. House _really_ didn't need to know about that. It didn't change anything, and it would just be more for House to harass them with when they got here. Since House didn't seem to have any crazy ideas, he'd jump on any sort of distraction, like he was now.

"You're lying," House immediately accused. He pointed his cane at Foreman. "Why are you lying? I told you not to let them drive."

Foreman rolled his eyes. "Fine. Chase passed out on Cameron's couch."

"Passed out?" House pounced on the words.

"He fell asleep," Foreman corrected. He should have known that it would turn into a debate of semantics. This was House.

"You said he passed out." House was watching Foreman closely, wheels obviously turning in his brain.

"He fell asleep."

"You said he passed out," House repeated. "Now either he passed out or he fell asleep. Which one is it?"

Foreman sighed. "He passed out. He carried Cameron into her apartment, sat down on her couch. He got up to leave, got dizzy, and passed out. I checked him out before I left. He was fine, just in deep sleep. So was Cameron."

"Cameron fell asleep or did she pass out?" House demanded.

"She got in the car and fell asleep," Foreman said. "Chase couldn't wake her. That's why he carried her to her apartment. This isn't sleeping sickness. Chase and Cameron had less contact with the girl than her parents and uncle. The girl's parents aren't sick. Her uncle isn't sick. This isn't an epidemic."

"And yet Chase and Cameron present the first symptom of the girl's illness." House turned back to the board. "Fatigue. Headache. Fever. The headache and fever led us to the possibility of meningitis. Dead end. Get Chase and Cameron in here. We need to know they're not getting sick."

"They're not sick," Foreman muttered as he left the room.

cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

_He was an idiot. A stupid, stupid idiot._ How could he have done that? She was tired, upset, and vulnerable. How could he have taken advantage of her like that? Yeah, he'd done it when she was high on meth, but he had known that. He'd regretted it. He'd tried to pretend that _that_ night had never happened, that he hadn't taken advantage of her. It wasn't true. She had asked him not to stop, not to be the good guy, but she was _high_. It was the drug talking. And he was just a man who thought with the little head instead of the big one.

He should go. He should go before she woke up because she would hate him for sure this time. He should call a taxi, go home, and get ready for work. It wouldn't be easy. His arm was underneath her, and she was nestled against him, her arm wrapped around his stomach. He pulled his arm out a little. She stirred, but didn't wake.

He rose and looked at her for a moment. She was beautiful when she was sleeping. She was content, relaxed, at peace, not tense like when she was awake. He'd joked about her having to schedule fun, but it was true. That was why she had taken the meth and called him. She wanted a night free from restraint, a night where she was not in control.

He continued to watch her. It would be wrong to say he knew her. He'd been intimate with her, but that intimacy was false. He didn't really know her. She had plenty of secrets, and so did he. He knew her body. It was something he couldn't seem to forget.

He took his clothes from the floor and put them on. He was about to leave when Cameron spoke in her sleep. "_Joe."_

Chase stopped. _Joe?_ Why was she calling out for her husband's best friend? If Cameron's husband was dead, why had she been so afraid of Joe?

"No! No! He can't be dead. It's not possible. Please, he can't be dead; he can't," Cameron shouted, and then started sobbing.

Chase went to her side and gently woke her. "Shh, Cameron. It's okay. It's only a dream. You're okay. It's just a dream."

Cameron opened her eyes and looked at him. "Chase?"

"You were having a nightmare," he told her. She looked at him. Would she tell him about the dream? Would she yell at him, tell him to get out? Did she hate him for last night? Did he dare ask?

"It was my husband." Her voice was shaky. "I had nightmares before he died, nightmares of his death. He had cancer. But when he died… It wasn't like any of my dreams."

"I'm sorry," Chase said, feeling useless. "Cameron, you're under a lot of stress with this case. And seeing your husband's friend… You were bound to be reminded of your husband."

"Yeah," she whispered.

"Look," Chase began, "why don't you take a shower? You'll feel better. I'll make coffee, see if I can find something for you to eat."

She nodded. "Okay."

She rose and walked to the bathroom, locking the door. Chase looked at the door for a second, and then shook his head and went into the kitchen. He finished preparing the coffee she'd started to make earlier that morning and opened the refrigerator, looking for food. She hadn't been shopping in a while. There was nothing in the refrigerator. He opened the freezer. A couple of microwave meals, some frozen juice. Not much. Finally, his eyes caught sight of a loaf of bread. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. He put two pieces in the toaster.

Cameron came into the kitchen, dressed as she usually did for work. She moved past him to the coffee pot, and he was able to smell her shampoo, a soft, floral aroma that made him want to pull her into his arms.

He didn't. "You need to get some food."

"I've been too busy to shop," she said wearily.

"It's all right," he assured her. "I found some bread, and your breakfast is almost ready."

"Thank you."

"No problem. It's only toast."

"No, it's more than that—"

The doorbell interrupted her. Chase looked at the door, then Cameron. "It's probably Foreman."

"Yeah… Get it, will you?"

He nodded and went to the door, opening it. "You're not Foreman."

"No," Joe said with a small smile that faded quickly. "I came to talk to Allison. Please, Allison, they won't tell me anything."

Chase looked back at Cameron, who was frozen where she stood. "Joe…I'm sorry. I—I don't know anything more than I did last night. I… House sent me home to get some sleep."

Joe looked at Chase. Chase felt like he had been caught in the middle of something that he didn't understand. Why was Cameron acting so guilty? He cleared his throat. "House sent us all home. Foreman drove us. Cameron fell asleep on the way here, and I crashed on her couch. We can't tell you anything else until we get back to the hospital."

Cameron nodded a little too quickly. "Chase is right. We have to get back to the hospital."

She set down her coffee and started towards the door. Chase looked at her. "Uh, Cameron, neither of us has a car."

"Okay," Joe agreed. "I'll drive you to the hospital."


	4. Maybe, Maybe Not

**Ghost From the Past (4?)  
Rating:** PG-13 (I think)  
**Word Count:** 1,136  
**Disclaimer:** I own House. Um, right. That was a lie. I don't own anything. Except season 1 & 2 on DVD and my own insanity.  
**Summary:** In the middle of a case, a figure from Cameron's past arrives, creating complications and confusions in her life.  
**Author's Note:** As I said, this is my first House fanfic. The characters may be very, very OOC. It is possible. I have no medical experience, therefore anything I write is probably very wrong. I have no beta, so all mistakes are mine. Some of this might be confusing. Hopefully, it will explain itself, even it not in this chapter... I should add, too, that there are no spoilers past season 2.

ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

"This is absurd," Chase protested angrily. "I hit my head. I'm not sick."

He wasn't sure why he bothered. When House thought that he was right, no one could convince him otherwise. Still, Chase couldn't give in. If he did, then House would want to run a series of pointless and no doubt humiliating tests on Chase. He couldn't let that happen. He wasn't sick. House's insane theory would keep them from diagnosing Elizabeth, who really was sick.

"Do you have a headache?" House asked.

"Yes," Chase knew it would be pointless to lie. His head _did_ hurt.

"Then you're sick," House insisted.

"I rolled off Cameron's couch and hit my head," Chase repeated slowly, losing his patience. He'd already gone over this. House had seen him rub his forehead and immediately assumed that since Chase had a headache, he was as sick as Elizabeth. "I'm not sick. I don't have a fever."

"Maybe, maybe not," House said. "I guess we'll know for sure when you drop dead."

Chase glared at him. He picked up Elizabeth's chart. "I'm fine. You said that the girl had another symptom. There's nothing on the board, and the last note on her chart is the change in her meds this morning."

"You don't think that the fact that her illness is contagious is important?"

"It's not contagious," Chase said. He looked at Foreman and then Cameron. Foreman shrugged. He'd been hearing this all morning. Cameron wasn't looking at him. That wasn't a good sign. "House, please. Her family isn't sick. Cameron isn't sick. It's not contagious."

House pointed his cane at Chase. "Don't go near the patient."

Chase groaned, letting his head hit the table. Foreman spoke up. "Chase _has_ a point. He's the only one showing any symptoms, and there's an explanation for them."

"Yes," House agreed. Chase closed his eyes and sighed in relief. It was short-lived. "So _why_ is Chase the only one showing symptoms? Chase, did you kiss another little girl?"

"No," Chase spat angrily. He banged his head against the table a few times. "I'm not sick."

"Sure," House agreed. "Were you alone with the patient?"

"I took her back to her room after her MRI," Chase answered. He shouldn't give House the satisfaction, but he just wanted this over with. "Nothing happened."

"Nothing? You didn't talk to her?"

"We talked. She's sick, and she's scared. I tried to reassure her."

"Oh, boo hoo," House mocked. "Did you hold her hand? Wipe away her tears?"

"No," Chase didn't bother looking up. "We talked. She calmed down and fell asleep."

"Did she sneeze? Cough?"

"If she had, I would have noted it in her chart. Nothing happened that would have caused me to get whatever she has. The fact that no one in her family is sick would make it a non-airbourne transmission, and I haven't been in contact with any of her body fluids." Chase shook his head, trying to make this go away. He looked up at House. "Why are you so sure that I'm sick? If my illness is the basis for your theory, you're wrong, and you're going to kill her. I am not sick."

"Cameron, examine the girl's blood. Don't just test it. Look at it," House ordered, picking up his ball and bouncing it. "We're missing something. Foreman, test Chase."

"I'm not sick. You'll just waste Foreman's time," Chase protested again.

"So?" House demanded. "Do it anyway."

Chase dropped his head back on the table. "I'm not bloody sick."

cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

"Allison."

The name made her jerk. The speaker made her wish that she had never been born. She's guilty for more than one reason, and she had the crazy feeling that he knows about all of them, and she felt like she had betrayed him, but she shouldn't. Joe had no claim on her.

Except as Elizabeth's uncle.

Cameron swallowed and looked up at him. Before she could apologize or make an excuse, Joe spoke. "You told me you'd let me know, that when you got to the hospital, you could tell me about Elizabeth."

She heard Foreman draw in his breath beside her. He would probably have something to say about Cameron staying on the case when they were alone again. Still, Elizabeth's case _was_ a case for an immunologist. She had what looked like an infection, but she wasn't responding to antibiotics.

Cameron opened her mouth to speak, but Joe continued. "Then we see Dr. House, and he insists that we leave Elizabeth's room because she's contagious."

Foreman cursed under his breath. Cameron shook her head. "It isn't likely that you'll catch anything. We have no proof that this is contagious."

"Dr. House said someone else was sick. A doctor. He asked Elizabeth about her MRI."

Foreman groaned. Cameron sighed. "Did Elizabeth remember coughing or sneezing on Dr. Chase?"

Joe frowned at the mention of Chase's name, but he shook his head. "She didn't seem to remember what Dr. House wanted to hear. He scared her."

"That's House," Cameron said. "Chase was fatigued, and he hit his head on my coffee table last night. He rolled off the couch. He has a headache, so House thought he was sick, too. But he doesn't have a fever."

"He's not sick," Joe repeated, looking at Foreman for confirmation. It hurt her to realize that he thought she would lie to him about it.

"His tests are negative," Foreman answered. He didn't add that Elizabeth's had been, too. "Cameron, I'm going back to the lab to run some more tests."

She nodded, watching him go. Foreman thought that Elizabeth probably had a virus, though they had already eliminated the common ones. House hadn't been willing to listen, but Foreman was still looking. Joe touched her arm. "Allison, can we talk? Just talk? I know, you have to work, and I need you to save Elizabeth, but you have to eat and if we—"

"Joe, I can't," she interrupted. If she'd let him continue, she might have let him convince her. But there were so many reasons what that was not a good idea. She looked at his hand, for a second wishing that he would take her into his arms and hold her as he had once. She'd let him hold her when her husband died. Then she had run. She ran before it became anything more. And now, it had finally caught up to her.

"I really can't." She cleared her throat, stepping out of his hold. Joe looked disappointed. He nodded, and she started to walk away.

"Allison?"

She stopped, turning back to him. His eyes pleaded with her. "We used to be friends, Allison. I know, right now, I'm Elizabeth's uncle, and you're her doctor, but when this is over, can we still be friends?"

"I don't know."


	5. Mistake Times 2

**Ghost From the Past (5?)**

**Rating:** PG-13 (I think)  
**Word Count:** 2,296  
**Disclaimer:** I own House. Um, right. That was a lie. I don't own anything. Except season 1 & 2 on DVD and my own insanity.  
**Summary:** In the middle of a case, a figure from Cameron's past arrives, creating complications and confusions in her life.  
**Author's Note:** As I said, this is my first House fanfic. The characters may be very, very OOC. It is possible. I have no medical experience, therefore anything I write is probably very wrong. I have no beta, so all mistakes are mine. Hopefully, this chapter will sort out some of the confusion of the previous, and again, no spoilers past season 2.

**Ghost From the Past  
Chapter Five: Mistake Times 2  
**

cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

"You people are useless," House thundered, slamming his cane on the table. Cameron jumped, even though she knew that it was coming. Chase didn't even look up from the laptop that he was using to research, and Foreman just looked at House. They were used to this. It had lost its effect.

House stopped. Foreman smiled. "Not as much fun when we don't react, is it?"

"Maybe," House agreed patronizingly. "Doesn't change the fact that you are all useless. What are you doing? Why aren't you coming up with a solution?"

"Maybe because you won't let me near the patient," Chase muttered. He continued typing, then scrolled down the page. Cameron glanced at him. Ignoring House was never a good idea.

"You want to cry about it, cry on Cameron's shoulder," House ordered. She felt herself blush a little and glared at House. Chase kept his head ducked behind the laptop. "Come on, people, what does this girl have?"

"Fatigue, headache, fever," she answered, "cardiac arrest. There are hundreds of possibilities."

"Try thousands," Foreman countered. "It could be one of thousands of viruses. Or a resistant strain of infection."

"Listeria," Cameron suggested, looking over Elizabeth's chart again.

"She doesn't have any neurological symptoms," Foreman said. "No double vision, no palsy, no dysphagia or dysarthia."

"She could be in the early stage and not have any of those symptoms," Cameron said defensively. "We don't have any proof that she _doesn't_ have double vision, blurred speech, or trouble swallowing. She's intubated and on an IV."

"Listeria is treated by antibiotics," Chase said. "The reason House is interested in her case is that she wasn't responding to the antibiotics. If she had listeria, she'd be getting better. And there was nothing on her CT or MRI."

House smiled. "Thank you, Chase. You've saved me the trouble of explaining to Cameron why she is completely _wrong_. Someone give me something else."

"Okay," Chase said, looking up at House. "She's got Munchausen's."

"What?" Cameron exclaimed. "She's eight years old."

"And eight year olds can't have Munchausen's?" House asked, looking at Foreman. Cameron frowned, unsure if House was being sarcastic or not. Normally, she could tell. Either her instincts were wrong, or House _wasn't_ being sarcastic.

"This is ridiculous," Foreman said. "An eight year old doesn't have the medical knowledge to induce this illness."

Chase shrugged. "House wanted something new."

"He also wanted something _plausible_," Cameron shot back. "Elizabeth doesn't have Munchausen's."

House looked out the window. Foreman looked at the board. "Maybe it's—"

Something light hit Cameron in the hand. She put her hand around the paper, crumpling it a little. Someone had passed her a note. She frowned. _Passing notes? Are we in middle school?_ She opened it.

_We need to talk._

It was Chase's handwriting. She felt herself start to panic. Her heart was racing, and her cheeks felt warm. If House looked back at her now—but Chase was the one that she really had to worry about. He was the one that wanted to talk. And if Chase wanted to talk, it had to be about last night. She couldn't handle this. What was she supposed to tell him? What _could_ she tell him? Not the truth. Definitely not the truth.

She looked up. Foreman and House had left. She didn't remember hearing them leave. Her throat went dry. She turned slowly, looking at Chase. He was bent over the laptop. "House ordered you to get another CT scan."

"What? Why?"

Chase shrugged. "Maybe he's reconsidered listeria. I don't know. He didn't say."

"Chase—"

"Get the CT," Chase told her. "We can talk later."

She nodded gratefully, taking her chance to escape. She couldn't face Chase right now. She didn't even stop to think about _why_ he'd been so quick to let her go.

_cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc_

_Cameron woke with a start. _Elizabeth._ She had to get back to Elizabeth. She had to go there right away. She didn't have time to sleep. Elizabeth's condition was serious. Cameron threw off the covers and got to her feet. She hurried to the door, and as she opened it, she stopped. _Wait a minute. How did I get to my apartment?

_She looked around. She was in her bedroom. She was still wearing what she'd worn to the hospital, except for her shoes. Her hair was undone. She didn't know how she'd gotten here, but someone had helped her, had taken off her shoes, let her hair loose, and tucked her into bed. Someone—it must have been either Foreman or Chase—had done this for her. She smiled briefly at the thought and then made her way into the kitchen. She needed coffee. She took a cup out of the cupboard, setting down next to the pot. She lifted the pot and started to fill it._

"_You should go back to bed, Cameron," a voice startled her, and she nearly dropped the coffee pot. "It's only been two hours."_

"_Chase?" she asked. "What are you doing here? And how do you know that?"_

"_I've been awake for an hour," Chase answered, and she realized that he was on her couch. "Foreman must have left me here when I fell asleep. You were already asleep when we got here. I carried you up, and then I sat down for a second and fell asleep… Until I rolled over and hit your coffee table, that is."_

_She set the pot down and left the kitchen, coming close to the couch. "Did you hurt yourself? Let me look at it."_

"_I'm fine," he insisted immediately. "It's just a scratch. I can handle it myself. I'm a doctor, too, remember?"_

_She laughed, unable to help herself. "Doctors make the worst patients."_

"_House is a perfect example of that," Chase replied as she sat down next to him. She turned on the lamp, causing him to wince. She explored the wound gently. There was a slight bump, but the bleeding had stopped, and it had already scabbed over._

"_You're right. It's not bad."_

"_I already cleaned it," he told her. "And I took some aspirin."_

_She smiled. "Differential diagnosis?"_

"_It's a minor wound, but there was trauma to the head. There's a small chance that I have a concussion," he recited matter-of-factly._

"_Oh, so I need to wake you every two hours?" She teased._

"_No. I can't sleep anyway," he told her. "It's not a concussion."_

_They smiled at each other and then lapsed into silence. She looked away, down at her feet. Chase had been the one to take off her shoes. She was sure of it. She could feel his eyes on her. She stood abruptly. "I should get changed, go back to the hospital."_

"_House will just send you home again," Chase said, not taking his eyes off her. She sighed and sat back down. Chase continued to stare. "Were you ever going to tell me?"_

"_Tell you what?" she asked, confused._

"_You said that Joe was the best friend of your husband."_

"_I did?" She felt her face flaming. It was Joe's presence that had made her say it. She'd been flustered, distracted. She had said what she'd never meant to say. She swallowed. No wonder he'd been staring at her. He was afraid that he had slept with a married woman. Chase was many things, but he was not an adulterator. "Chase, look around you. Does it look like I'm married?"_

"_No," he answered like he had already asked the question of himself._

"_It's true," she admitted at last. "I _was_ married. He died."_

_Chase looked at her. "I'm sorry."_

_She looked into his eyes, those eyes full of concern, and she remembered how she had wanted to grab him by the tie and kiss him. She felt herself reddening again, but she drew closer to him. She grabbed his tie and kissed him. The kisses were deep and tender, slow at first, but growing faster and more urgent as they continued to touch. Clothes were in the way. His hands were under her shirt while she unbuttoned his._

_History was repeating itself, she thought as Chase kissed her neck. She was about to make the same mistake._

"_Cameron," he said, stopping to look at her. "Are you sure—"_

"_Please," she said. "We almost lost a little girl today. We don't know what's wrong. I just want to forget. Help me forget, please, Chase."_

_His mouth covered hers again._

_cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc_

"Allison?" Joe's voice startled her out of her fugue. She blinked and looked at him. "Allison, are you okay? You were just standing there, staring off into space, ever since you brought Elizabeth back from her test."

She swallowed, unsure what she should say. She certainly couldn't tell him the truth. _I'm sorry, Joe. I was just remembering what Chase and I did last night when I should have been concentrating on curing Elizabeth._

"You didn't even tell us the results," Joe continued. "Did you find anything?"

This she could answer. She shook her head. "I thought Elizabeth might have listeria. She might have been in the early stage, which was why the first CT scan didn't show any signs. But this second CT would have shown it if it was there. It's not listeria. We still don't know. We're still doing tests."

"You're not," Joe observed.

She shook her head, smiling a little. "No. I should go. I need to get back to the lab."

"Joe caught her arm before she could leave. "No, what you need is some rest. You're pushing yourself too hard. I know it's my fault. I've been pushing you. I'm sorry, Allison. I can't help worrying about Elizabeth."

"No, it's good that you care so much," Cameron assured him. "Many people don't. And most uncles wouldn't be missing work to sit at their niece's bedside."

"I can't leave her," Joe told Cameron, her eyes misting. "I can't. I… I left for coffee. I wasn't even gone five minutes, but when I got back—"

"He was gone," she finished. She'd known when her husband sent Joe out of the room that he wanted to be alone with her. He'd asked her to lower his morphine. He'd been in pain, but lucid enough to tell her one last time that he loved her. And when Joe returned, he was dead. Joe had held her while she cried. He'd carried the guilt of leaving that day alone until now. "It wasn't your fault, Joe. I don't think he wanted you there."

"I should have been there," Joe insisted. "All this time, I thought maybe…we used to talk, go for walks. We were friends, but I… I started to feel more. I worried that he knew, that he sent me away because he was angry."

Her throat was dry. She couldn't deal with this now. Not in the middle of a case. Not with a girl sick in the other room that Cameron was supposed to cure. She looked up at Joe. "He just wanted to be alone with me one last time, Joe. He didn't hate you or blame you."

"Allison—"

"I have to go," she said, pulling her arm free. She hurried around the corner. As soon as she reached it, she started running blindly. She didn't know where she was going. All she knew was that she had to get away. She ran, ran, and ran until at last she found nowhere else to run. She slid to the ground, burying her head in her knees as she started to cry.

All those years ago, as she watched her husband die, she'd grown close to his best friend. Joe had been there for her. They'd shared the same worries, the same fears, and loved the same man, who was dying. It didn't take long for her to realize that she was falling for Joe, too. She had no one else. Her husband was dying. She leaned more and more on Joe. She sometimes thought that he felt the same, but she never asked. She never acted on what she felt. She couldn't have lived with herself.

Now she knew that Joe had felt the same. Wasn't that what she'd wanted to hear? So why did knowing scare her so much? She should be happy. A man she loved loved her.

But did she really love him? She had thought so, but then she'd had feelings for House. And she'd slept with Chase. Twice. Did that mean that she'd gotten over her feelings for Joe? It wasn't likely. Joe's presence had made her nervous. Guilty. She'd felt the same as she did before. What was she going to do?

She didn't know. She needed to pull herself together somehow. She felt a hand on her shoulder. "Cameron?"

She didn't answer. Couldn't. Arms went around her, and she was too tired, too exhausted physically and emotionally, to resist. She leaned into him. It was becoming a habit. She would have to stop this.

Chase brushed the hair back from her face. "Cameron, are you—"

She looked up at him. She didn't let him finish. She covered his mouth with hers. She wanted to be held, to be loved. Chase was safe. She knew how she felt about him. There was nothing more than physical attraction between them. She knew he would comfort her.

Chase pulled back, holding her so that she couldn't kiss him. "Cameron, we should probably—"

She put her finger against his lips. "I need you to be there for me. I need you."

Chase shook his head. "You're upset. You were running through the hospital, and I found you in tears. You're not thinking straight. You don't know what you want."

"Yes, I do," she insisted, kissing him again.


	6. The Other Side of the Coin

**Ghost From the Past (6?)**

**Rating:** PG-13 (I think)  
**Word Count:** 1,838  
**Disclaimer:** I own House. Um, right. That was a lie. I don't own anything. Except season 1 & 2 on DVD and my own insanity.  
**Summary:** In the middle of a case, a figure from Cameron's past arrives, creating complications and confusions in her life.  
**Author's Note:** As I said, this is my first House fanfic. The characters may be very, very OOC. It is possible. I have no medical experience, therefore anything I write is probably very wrong. I have no beta, so all mistakes are mine. No spoilers past season 2. This chapter probably has lots of OOC

**Ghost From the Past  
Chapter Six: The Other Side of the Coin**

cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

"There you are," House said accusingly as Chase and Foreman entered into the diagnosis room. His attention was on Chase. "Where have you been? And why are you so flushed?"

"Not because I have a bloody fever," Chase answered, slumping down in a chair. "I went to find Cameron."

House looked at him. "I thought we agreed that our resident bleeding heart wasn't going to be a part of this. Especially since she _knows_ the girl's uncle and will feel morally obligated to tell him we're bad, bad men who think his precious little niece is a victim of Munchausen's."

"She still doesn't know," Chase said, unable to shake off the guilt he felt. He had found her, alone and hurting, and she'd wanted him. He'd almost been stupid enough to give in. Instead, he'd held her, kissed her, and soothed her until she fell asleep. He'd paged Foreman, and together they'd set her up in one of the rooms, hopefully in a place where she wouldn't be disturbed. Then they had gone to meet House and Wilson. Typically, House didn't think Cuddy needed to be informed that they suspected that they had a case of Munchausen's by proxy.

"Good. We need to keep it that way," House got to his feet, limping towards the door. "You sure Cameron won't find out?"

"She's asleep," Chase answered, rubbing his forehead.

House turned back to look at him. "She's _asleep?_ Think, Goldilocks. Where's the first place she's going to go when she wakes up?"

"Elizabeth's room." Cameron had wanted to rush there last night even though she had only gotten two hours of sleep. Chase looked at House. House looked at him.

"Wilson's taking Elizabeth for a fake test," House said. "Foreman and I will take care of the room. _You _make sure that Cameron stays unaware of our sting operation."

Chase had actually wanted to go back to Cameron. He was worried about her. But he didn't let House know that. "I can baby sit Cameron for now, but I can't keep her from finding out forever."

"I know. You're a lousy liar," House said. "But at least you're pretty. Shower. Style your hair. Put on a clean shirt. Go buy one from the gift shop. Try green. She can tell you it matches your eyes."

Chase glared at House. "Cameron isn't stupid. She will know that you've done something. Besides, I can't distract her if I can't go near the patient."

"Ah, I was wondering when you'd bring that up."

"If you think this is Munchausen's by proxy, then why are you keeping me from the patient?" Chase demanded.

"You're still flushed," House said, walking away. "Have Cameron take your temperature. And buy the damn shirt."

cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

He felt like a bloody moron. Probably because he was. He had to be daft to listen to House on a normal day, but today was worse than usual. After all, the man was convinced that Chase was sick when he wasn't, but Chase was still listening to him. Obeying him. He was in the hospital gift shop, looking for a shirt because House had told him to look for a shirt.

It was official. He was a bloody moron.

He fingered the only real option. Most of the gift shop was devoted to trinkets, stuffed bears, candy, baby gifts, or shirts with sayings or designs on them. He wasn't about to wear a shirt that proclaimed him a proud new papa or a cancer survivor. The one had found was plain green, with "Princeton-Plainsboro" stitched above the pocket. It was also the only collared shirt in the gift shop. His discovery of it was either coincidence or one of House's jokes.

It was his size. House was behind this.

"Dr. Chase," he heard Cuddy say as he put the shirt on the counter. He turned back to face her, forcing a smile.

"Dr. Cuddy."

"You mind telling me why—"

"I'd explain, but I really don't know what is going on with Elizabeth Stanton," Chase was quick to cut her off. Cuddy was on the warpath, and the last thing that he needed was her hounding him. "House has taken it into his head that I have whatever she has and won't let me near her. I spent the day doing research."

He handed the cashier his credit card as Cuddy stared at him. "You look fine. Why does House think you're contagious?"

"I was fatigued," he signed the paper the cashier handed him.

"You worked thirty hours," Cuddy had checked the time charts before she found him. She was looking at House's cases. She suspected something. Chase wondered if she knew where Cameron was. Maybe she was saving that for later, waiting to spring it on him and trap him.

"I had a headache."

"You have a bump and a cut," Cuddy said, taking hold of his chin and examining his forehead. "Did you run into something?"

"I rolled off a couch," he answered, pulling out of her hold.

"You _do_ look flushed," she continued, watching him closely. Suspiciously. House's insistence that Cuddy didn't need to know about the possible MBPS was not worth Cuddy's anger. If the diagnosis was right, then she would hear about it anyway and be even angrier.

"I'm in the gift shop buying a shirt because House wants me to be wants me to be a distraction," Chase told her, taking his bag from the cashier. This was embarrassing. That was why House had made him do it. Chase left the gift shop, heading for the elevator.

"For what? The girl's mother?" Cuddy demanded, following him into the elevator. She pointed a finger at him accusingly. "You think you have a case of MBPS, don't you?"

Chase said nothing. She was right. There was no point in lying. Cuddy put her hands on her hips. "My god, don't you people have any respect for how serious this is? _I _should have been informed. _The police_ should have been informed."

Chase shrugged. "I don't think that House really believes its MBPS."

Cuddy looked at him. "He still thinks you're sick."

Chase nodded. "But even if I am—and I'm _not_—that doesn't explain what this is."

"If House knew, he'd insist on treating you," Cuddy agreed. She folded her arms. "Whose idea was the MBPS?"

"Mine."

"What does Foreman think it is?"

"He's still testing for viruses."

"Cameron?"

"She thought it was listeria, but the tests were negative."

"Great," Cuddy muttered. "We have no _idea_ what is wrong with this girl. Is House still giving her antibiotics?"

Chase shook his head. "They were starting to damage her kidneys. We took her off of them a couple hours ago. And the mother was really upset. It convinced House to look for MBPS."

"Where is House?" Cuddy asked as the doors opened. Chase followed her out.

"He and Foreman should have been out of the girl's room by now. Where he went after that is anyone's guess," he turned and headed for the locker room.

Cuddy stopped. "Where are you going?"

"To shower and change," Chase answered. "I'm supposed to look my best."

She was laughing as he walked away.

ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

Watching her sleep was becoming a habit. Maybe an addiction. He should get used to this, watching her sleep. Her steady, relaxed breathing was soothing. She was at peace, which meant that he could be at peace. In here, it was like the rest of the world didn't exist. No lives waited on their ability to diagnose and cure an illness. No crazy boss waited to humiliate them for his own amusement. No ghosts from the past waited to throw their lives into chaos.

He could get addicted to this very easily. Children of addicts were more likely to develop an addiction, so that made Chase's addiction even more likely. Of course, compared to his mother's, this was healthy.

Only he was pretty sure Cameron wouldn't like it if she knew about it. That would make it very hard to get a fix. He brushed the hair back from her face and ran his fingers over her hand before sitting back in his chair.

"I thought you were the one that was sick, not her."

Chase looked up to see Joe standing in the doorway. He couldn't help his irritation. What was Joe doing here? He should have gone home. Or he should be trying to sleep in the waiting room, not standing in Cameron's doorway.

"I'm not sick," Chase said, getting to his feet. "And she's not, either. She's exhausted."

"You say that like it's my fault."

_That's because it_ is, Chase caught himself thinking. He blamed Joe fro Cameron's distraction, confusion, and exhaustion. She'd been acting differently since she ran into Joe, since she made that damn promise. She was unfocused. She couldn't think straight, but she kept pushing herself. Harder and harder. She'd pushed herself right into a brick wall.

"You care about Cameron, right?" Chase asked, rounding the bed to stand in between Joe and Cameron.

"Yes, I do." Joe folded his arms over his chest defensively.

"She cares about you. She wouldn't have made that promise to save Elizabeth if she didn't. But she can't keep that promise. The more she tries, the more she suffers. So I'm asking you. Do you really care about her?"

"Yes." There was a lot in that one word, and Chase finally understood what he was in the middle of. Cameron might have been married to Joe's best friend, but that hadn't stopped Joe from falling in love with her. Or Cameron from falling in love with Joe.

"If you care about her, you'll leave her alone," Chase told him. "You'll ask Foreman or House for updates. I know you want to know about Elizabeth. But don't ask her. She feels like she failed every time you do."

"Okay. I'll… I'll go back to Elizabeth," Joe nodded, walking away with his head down. He didn't see House standing behind him. House was watching Chase.

Chase folded his arms over his chest. "What do you want?"

"Nice shirt," House said.

"Do you have a point?" Chase added irritably.

"You're flushed," House continued. "Did you have Cameron take your temperature?"

"She hasn't woken up yet," Chase answered. "And it doesn't matter because I haven't got a bloody fever."

"Fifty bucks says you do," House pointed his cane at Chase. "You told Cuddy."

Chase shrugged. No point in denying it. House sighed. "Differential diagnosis. If it's not MBPS, what is it?"

"No idea," Chase admitted. He looked back at Cameron. "Do you want me to wake her?"

"No. Let her sleep. She's useless like this." House limped off to the diagnosis room.

Chase turned back to Cameron. He took a deep breath, leaning over the side of the bed. Watching her was soothing. He kissed her forehead, closing his eyes. It had taken him a while to realize it, but Joe wasn't the only man in love with Allison Cameron.


	7. Friendly Advice

**Ghost From the Past (7?)**

**Rating:** PG-13 (I think)  
**Word Count:** 2,410  
**Disclaimer:** I own House. Um, right. That was a lie. I don't own anything. Except season 1 & 2 on DVD and my own insanity.  
**Summary:** In the middle of a case, a figure from Cameron's past arrives, creating complications and confusions in her life.  
**Author's Note:** As I said, this is my first House fanfic. The characters may be very, very OOC. It is possible. I have no medical experience, therefore anything I write is probably very wrong. I have no beta, so all mistakes are mine. No spoilers past season 2.

**Ghost From the Past  
Chapter Seven: Friendly Advice**  
ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

She couldn't remember. And that scared her. She could not remember—but she remembered enough to make her afraid. She and Chase—what had they done? She knew that she had kissed him, but she didn't know if that had been all she did. She felt like an idiot. Her head hurt like she had a hangover. And she knew she'd made a mistake. She _had_ kissed him. He had tried to stop, but she had not wanted to stop.

Not then. Now…

She splashed water on her face and stood up, studying herself in the mirror. She looked terrible. She did her best to clean herself up, then left the room. She had to speak to Chase, though she wasn't looking forward to it. There would be coffee in the diagnosis room. And coffee was a good place to start.

When she entered the room, Foreman and Chase were there. She supposed it could be worse. House could have been there, too. She needed to talk to Chase, but she wasn't ready for that yet, and if she did talk to him, it should be when they were by themselves.

She looked at the clock. "Good morning."

Foreman grunted. She felt a twinge of guilt. She'd been asleep, but it didn't look like Foreman had been able to get any rest. Chase nodded over his coffee cup. She looked at him. She didn't recognize that shirt. Maybe Chase had gotten some sleep, too. But she wasn't sure that was a good thing, not if he'd slept with her…

"Nice shirt," she began, touching his sleeve. "Is it new?"

"Yeah," he answered softly. He met her eyes briefly, and then looked away. He shook his head, answering her unspoken question.

She sighed in relief. So they hadn't done anything. She smiled at him. "It looks good. Matches your eyes."

"Thanks," he mumbled, choking on his coffee but waved away her attempt to help. He took his coffee and grabbed his lab coat. "I've got clinic duty."

Cameron watched him leave and then sat down at the table, putting her head in her hands. What had she done? She knew that she shouldn't have kissed Chase, shouldn't have done what she did the other night, and now… It had gotten complicated. And that was without adding Joe to the mess.

"What have I done?" she asked herself. "What am I _going_ to do?"

"You really want to know?" Foreman asked, offering her a cup of coffee.

"Yes," she answered, then reconsidered. "No. I don't know."

Foreman waited, watching her. She took the coffee cup from him and took a sip. "My life is a disaster."

"You want some friendly advice?"

"Yes," she didn't hesitate. She was so confused. She needed someone's help, and turning to Chase had been an even bigger mistake than the first time.

"Fine," Foreman said. "Stop using Chase."

"What?"

"You heard me," Foreman told her. "You're in control of your relationship. You have been for a long time."

"Relationship?" Cameron repeated, staring at Foreman. "Chase and I don't have a relationship."

"_That's_ the problem," Foreman explained. "You know that. But I don't think _he _knows that."

She didn't understand. She shook her head. This was not what she expected, not the help she needed. She already knew that she had done the wrong thing by turning to Chase, but she didn't need to be told that. She sighed. "But why would he think there was more? There isn't."

"Cameron, please. You just told him he looked good in his shirt."

"As a friend. A friend tells their friends when they look nice," she protested.

"You're giving him mixed signals," Foreman told her. She stared at him in disbelief. She'd acted like a friend, just a friend. The sum of her "relationship" with Chase was that "it didn't suck." This was ridiculous.

Foreman sighed. "And he's got it bad."

Cameron kept staring. She couldn't believe this. She was talking about her nonexistent relationship with Chase with Foreman, there was a little girl dying in another room, and Joe…Joe was in love with her. Now Foreman was saying…No, that couldn't be right.

"I saw the way he took care of you the other night," Foreman said. "Cameron, he's in love with you."

She choked on her coffee. "What? No… No… It's not possible."

Foreman watched her. He shook his head, eyes closed. "Please tell me you didn't."

"Foreman—"

"You slept with him again, didn't you?"

She couldn't answer. She felt horribly guilty. She was going to be sick, and tears were welling in her eyes. How had things gotten so completely mixed up? Joe, Chase… "I didn't know—I didn't know he felt—He didn't say anything—I didn't know."

Foreman's gaze softened. He'd been harsh before, but now he touched her shoulder. "He didn't say anything because he doesn't know. But you had better be clear about it now."

She nodded, burying her face in her arms. Foreman stopped in the doorway. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

She thanked him, but she knew that fixing this wouldn't be easy.

ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

"She's using you," House said, opening the door to the exam room. "You know that, right?"

Chase's patient shrieked and covered herself ineffectually. It was perfect. House had some strange, twisted sense of timing, an ability to sense the worst possible moment. Chase had been in the middle of a breast exam on a very skittish woman in her early forties with the cancer gene and extreme paranoia. Every week she was in, convinced that she had found a lump. Most doctors were fed up with her hysteria, so Chase had calmed her down once by saying she should ask for him. It was a mistake. At first, she'd been too embarrassed to be seen by a younger doctor who was "cute," but now she would only see him. And House had just accused her of using Chase.

"Dr. House, _get out,"_ Chase ordered. "It's okay, Mrs. Stevens. Excuse me for a second."

"Oh, sorry," House said, looking at Mrs. Stevens. "Not you."

Chase shoved House out of the room. "What do you think you were doing?"

"What I always do," House said, frowning. "What is your problem?"

"My problem? You just burst in on my patient who happens to be nervous and extremely paranoid. She will probably sue. And since I know that you don't give a damn about that, how about the fact that you interrupted my exam for no good reason?"

"I was trying to be concerned about my subordinate," House pretended to look hurt. He faked puppy eyes at Chase, making his lower lip quiver like he was about to cry. "It's only because I really, really love you."

"House," Chase said impatiently.

"You're flushed," House said, dropping the act. "I noticed that the lovely Mrs. Robinson always asks for you. Why is that? Are you having an affair?"

"No," Chase said angrily.

"You were touching her breasts."

Chase banged his head against the wall. "She thinks she has cancer. I was doing an exam."

"Right. Sure. Is that what you call it when you do it to Cameron?"

Chase blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

House looked at him. "You know what I mean. You and Cameron. Or maybe it's just you. She's certainly not acting like a lovesick teenager. But _you_ are."

Chase glared at him. "I have an exam to do."

"She can wait."

"If this was about a case, then yes, she could wait," Chase agreed, "but this isn't about a case. This is about you humiliating me because I won't buy into your crazy theory that Elizabeth's illness is contagious."

"Either you keep getting humiliated or angry or you have a fever. You shouldn't be treating patients," House said. "You _do_ know she's using you, right?"

Chase said nothing, glaring at House and folding his arms over his chest. House watched him. "This is worse than I thought. You _care_ about her."

Chase rolled his eyes and opened the door to the exam room. House pushed it shut. "You are an _idiot._ You're in love with her."

In all the years that he'd worked for House, Chase had never come closer to hitting House. He could feel his hand twitching, clenching and unclenching. His eyes never left House. Chase'd had enough. House had gone too far. But House actually _wanted_ Chase to hit him. Chase stepped back and grabbed the door handle.

"It doesn't matter," Chase said, opening the door.

"Yes, it does," House said. "You can't work with her if you're—"

"It doesn't matter," Chase repeated. "I quit."

ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

"Cameron?"

The voice made her jerk her head up from the table. She hadn't moved since Foreman left her. Now that she was actually looking around, she discovered that someone had been nice to her and closed the blinds. And now she was no longer alone, but she wasn't unhappy about it. It could have been any one of three people and she would have wanted to crawl into a hole and die, but it wasn't. She knew that avoiding them wasn't helping anything, but she couldn't face them, either.

"I would have thought you'd be with Elizabeth," Wilson continued as he came over to the table.

"That would mean that I'd see Joe," she said, turning the full cup of coffee around in a circle. It was too cold to drink now. She could warm it up, but she wasn't about to move.

"Joe?" Wilson asked, raising an eyebrow. "Joe as in _the_ Joe? The Joe you fell in love with when your husband was dying?"

"Yep. _The_ Joe," she answered. It was so absurd she found herself smiling. She felt like she had been drinking. Or should have been drinking. "Joe is Elizabeth's uncle."

"That must be awkward," Wilson observed. He shrugged. "But I don't know that it explains why you look like you've been run over by a truck and you're in here by yourself in need of a good drink."

"You don't think it does?"

"You seemed to have put it behind you," Wilson went to the coffee pot, filled himself a cup, and then sat down across from her, folding his coat into his lap. "Maybe you regretted never knowing what it was like. But you had someone new."

She smiled ruefully. "You mean House."

"Am I wrong? Were you pining for Joe all this time?" Wilson prodded.

"No," she admitted. She felt better for saying it, admitting it. Her husband had died years ago, and she rarely thought of Joe. She had taken her wedding album out after that conversation with Wilson, but she didn't think about Joe, wonder where he was, or dream about him, except when she was reminded of him.

"So it's not because you ran into him again."

"No."

"And it's not because you're trying to cure his niece."

"No." She was aware that their conversation was like pulling teeth, and she was grateful that Wilson was patient enough to try.

"So I have to guess," Wilson said. He was good at this, she thought. Probably from all those years dealing with House. "Let's see… You obviously still have feelings for him. Which is worse, if he has feelings for you or if he doesn't?"

"It would be easier if he didn't," she answered. "But he loves me."

Wilson nodded. "And you're his niece's doctor, so you have—"

"And Chase loves me." The words still made her feel sick. Her stomach gave a little twinge. At least she hadn't eaten anything yet.

"Chase loves you?" Wilson asked. He didn't really sound surprised. Maybe the only one that _didn't_ know was her. "How does Chase fit into all this?"

"I slept with him," she said. She couldn't be embarrassed anymore. It had gone too far. If everyone didn't know already, they soon would. They would know everything. They would know about Joe, about her husband, about how she'd used Chase…

"Again?"

She nodded, looking down at the coffee cup. "It was the night that we almost lost Elizabeth. I just wanted to forget. I didn't know that he was in love with me. Foreman told me this morning."

"You're sure he loves you?"

Funny. She'd never stopped to doubt it. Chase loved her. When Foreman said that, she'd accepted it without question. Well, no, she'd tried to deny it, but she hadn't tried very hard. Why? Because she wanted it to be true? Her life was complicated enough. Why would she want it to be true?

"I _used_ him."

"He consented," Wilson said, taking a sip of his coffee.

"He loves me," Cameron protested. "He loves me, and I don't love him. I _used_ him. I saw Joe again. I was confused about the way that I felt about him. Elizabeth coded, and Chase brought her back. And I used him because I wanted to avoid thinking about Joe."

Wilson nodded. "So you feel guilty."

"Yes."

"So you're sitting here feeling sorry for yourself?"

She jerked her head up, looking at him in shock. "I'm not feeling sorry for myself. I—"

"You—?"

"I don't know how to fix this. I don't know what to do." She sighed. "And I'm feeling sorry for myself."

He smiled. "You want some advice?"

"Foreman already gave me some," she answered. "Stop using Chase."

"Sounds good," Wilson agreed. "What about Joe?"

She shook her head with a shrug. "I don't know. I have to cure Elizabeth first. Then I'll decide."

Wilson frowned. "I'm not sure that avoiding a decision is a good idea."

"I can't make it now," she rose and dumped her coffee in the sink. She watched it go down the drain, feeling empty. "I haven't seen Joe in five years. I don't know him anymore. I need time to get to know him again."

"That sounds reasonable," Wilson told her. She turned as he got to his feet. _Sure, it sounds reasonable;_ she wanted to scream,_ so why don't I feel any better?_ He walked over to her, squeezing her shoulder supportively. "You'll be fine."

She nodded and watched him leave. When he got to the door, he stopped. "Cameron, have you considered the possibility that you weren't avoiding your feelings for Joe when you were with Chase? That maybe you were acting on your feelings for Chase?"

Cameron stared at Wilson. She didn't have an answer for that.


	8. The Triangle Squared

**Ghost From the Past (8?)**

**Rating:** PG-13 (I think)  
**Word Count:** 1,618  
**Disclaimer:** I own House. Um, right. That was a lie. I don't own anything. Except season 1 & 2 on DVD and my own insanity.  
**Summary:** In the middle of a case, a figure from Cameron's past arrives, creating complications and confusions in her life.  
**Author's Note:** As I said, this is my first House fanfic. The characters may be very, very OOC. It is possible. I have no medical experience, therefore anything I write is probably very wrong. I have no beta, so all mistakes are mine. No spoilers past season 2. 

**Ghost From the Past  
Chapter Eight: The Triangle Squared  
cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc**

"Congratulations, your daughter is cured," House announced, coming into Elizabeth's room. He went to her IV and injected a syringe. The Stantons looked at their daughter, who was still on the respirator, her eyes closed. She didn't look cured. Foreman looked at House. What was he up to now?

"It was a virus," House continued. "Thanks to Dr. Foreman here, she should be well enough to take off the respirator in a few hours, and then she can go home."

"House—" Foreman began, but House left as quickly as he had come. Cursing, Foreman followed him. "House, what are you doing? That girl's not cured. We can't take her off the respirator. She'll die."

"I _know_ that," House answered. "But _they_ don't."

Foreman frowned. "You're telling them that their daughter is cured, that we're sending her home—"

"Think, Foreman," House interrupted. "If Chase was right, and this _is_ a case of Munchausen's by proxy, how are we going to prove it? As long as we don't know what's wrong, there's no reason for anyone to slip her a mickey."

"But if she gets better, they'll have to make her sick again," Foreman finished. He nodded. "It's a good theory."

"Of course it is. We should see something this afternoon," House said, walking into his office. He pushed through the papers on his desk, moving them aside as he searched.

"I thought you didn't think that Chase was right," Foreman said.

"I don't. Which is why I want to speed this up. That way we don't have to waste any more time on a stupid idea."

"Right," Foreman agreed with a little sarcasm. House found the file he was looking for and opened it. Rolling his eyes, Foreman started to leave.

"Whoa, wait a minute," House said, closing the file. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To run some more tests," Foreman said like it was obvious. Because it _was_ obvious. All he had done lately was run tests for viruses.

"No. You're going to baby sit our little girl. Keep an eye on the security feed. We don't want anyone to kill her, now do we?"

House picked up his cane and started towards the door. Foreman turned to him. "If this is Chase's theory, and you won't let him near the patient anyway, why do I have to monitor the security video?"

"Because Chase is still in the clinic," House answered. Under his breath, he added something that sounded suspiciously like, "at least I _hope_ he's still there."

cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

It was lunch. In the hospital cafeteria. They weren't even leaving the grounds. It wasn't a date. That was how she justified it to herself. She had to eat, and she had to talk to Joe. She was just killing two birds with one stone. She felt guilty.

She _was_ guilty.

With an uncomfortable smile, she extracted her hand from Joe's hold. She picked up her fork and stabbed it into a few pieces of lettuce. She didn't bring the food to her mouth. The fork was a safety net. "Joe, I need to talk to you."

He smiled. "I'm glad you agreed to lunch."

"Joe, this isn't what you think it is," Cameron began, shaking her head. "I have to—I feel like I need to set some boundaries."

"Boundaries?" he asked defensively. "I know you're Elizabeth's doctor. I know you're working, and I promised that other doctor that I'd ask someone else for updates. I don't want to pressure you."

"You promised _what_ other doctor? Did House—?"

"It wasn't House, though I don't know why you work for him," Joe told her. He reached for her hand, but she quickly grabbed her water and took a sip. "It was that other one. The one that was at your apartment."

Cameron set her water back down. She didn't know who she was angrier with, Joe or Chase. Chase had no right to ask Joe for that promise, but then Joe had no right to act like a jealous boyfriend. They weren't dating. And Chase had a name.

"I work for House because I respect him," she said, not missing Joe's derisive look. "And Chase had no right to ask you that."

"He's very protective of you," Joe continued.

"So are you," she snapped, setting down her fork in anger. "Joe, I agreed to lunch because we needed to talk. You can't be doing this. Right now, I'm Elizabeth's doctor; you're her uncle. That's all. We should only talk about her condition. Anything else, if there is anything else, should wait until after she's cured."

"Allison—"

"Joe, we haven't seen each other in five years. And you're acting like—"

"Joe!" a voice interrupted them, and Cameron looked up to see a smartly dressed blonde in a rain soaked jacket making her way towards them. She was straight out of a fashion magazine, but when Joe got to his feet to greet her, she looked like she belonged. _She belongs with Joe_, Cameron thought. He wasn't necessarily a walking model—that was Chase—but Joe had better fashion sense. Some of Chase's shirts were really awful. She should get him some that matched his eyes.

The woman's voice drew Cameron out of her thoughts. "Joe, where have you been? You haven't returned any of my calls, and when I called your work, they said you were at the hospital."

"I'm sorry, Lauren. It's Elizabeth. She's sick."

Lauren's smile fell. "Joe, why didn't you tell me? I would have come. You know I love Elizabeth."

"She'll be fine," Joe said.

"You're a lousy liar," Lauren said, hurt in her voice. She shook her head. "You didn't tell me because you didn't want me here."

Cameron picked up her tray and went to dump it. This was awkward. Lauren was Joe's girlfriend. That much was obvious. Joe had lied about her. He hadn't said that he didn't have a girlfriend, but a lie of omission was still a lie. _Great._ Chase was in love with Cameron, Cameron still had feelings for House, Joe was in love with Cameron, and Lauren was in love with Joe. It was even messier than before.

"Allison, wait," Joe said as she tried to leave without either of them knowing. "Lauren, this is Elizabeth's doctor, Allison Cameron."

She forced a smile. "It's nice to—"

"So you're Allison," Lauren said, and Cameron could see tears in her eyes. "I guess that explains why you never called, Joe."

"Lauren—"

"Can I please see Elizabeth?" Lauren addressed herself to Cameron. "After that, I can go."

Cameron felt sorry for her. She knew that Lauren didn't want her pity, but she nodded. "Come with me."

ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

"You can't quit."

"Are you stalking me?" Chase asked, putting the chart for his final patient on the stack and signing out of the clinic. House had followed him earlier, forcing Chase to lock the door to the exam room and try to treat patients with House pounding on the door until House finally gave up, or, more likely, Cuddy kicked him out of the clinic. That House was back wasn't a good thing, but at least Chase was done with his clinic hours.

"Only because I miss your beautiful eyes and perfect hair," House said, putting his cane against the wall to block Chase's path. "You can't quit."

"I already did," Chase said, ducking under the cane. It was actually quite liberating to know that he no longer worked for House.

"No, you haven't. You haven't turned in your letter of resignation yet. And do you know why?"

"Because I haven't had time yet," Chase answered.

"No, because you're not going to quit," House said smugly.

"I told you, I already did," Chase insisted. He started towards the stairs, knowing that House wouldn't follow him. Couldn't. "As soon as Elizabeth's case is over, I'm gone."

"I won't accept your resignation," House called as Chase started up the stairs.

Chase stopped, turning back to look at House. "What?"

"You heard me. I won't accept your resignation. You can't quit."

Chase walked back to House. He looked at him, shaking his head. "Why are you doing this? Why won't you let me quit? You don't like me. You only hired me because my father was the great Rowan Chase. You wanted fire me when Volger was here. And again when Kayla died. Why are you trying to stop me now?"

"Because it's not Munchausen's by proxy," House said. "Someone would have done something by now. I need another suggestion."

"I already told you that I'm not leaving until Elizabeth's case is over," Chase repeated. "Why are you trying to stop me now?"

"Because you're sick."

"I'm not. If you really thought that I was, you'd be forcing me to lie in bed while you tested everything you could think of," Chase said, folding his arms over his chest.

"House," Foreman called, running down the stairs. He reached House and Chase out of breath. Catching it, he continued, head lowered, "It's Munchausen's by proxy."

"What?" Chase exclaimed. It had been his theory, but he hadn't really expected it to be right. It stunned him.

"It can't be," House said.

"I _saw _it. The mother dosed the kid," Foreman said. "We have to get back to her right now."

"No, it _can't_ be," House repeated. He was watching Chase closely. And that was when Chase realized that something was wrong. His vision blurred, and he fell. He heard noise all around him, saw Foreman—a Foreman coloured blob—above him.

"Chase? Chase, can you hear me?" Foreman asked. "He's going into arrest! We need a gurney over here!"

The world went black.


	9. Tough Love

Work and being sick got the better of me, so there isn't much to this.

**Ghost From the Past (9?)  
**  
**Rating:** PG-13 (I think)  
**Word Count:** 660  
**Disclaimer:** I own House. Um, right. That was a lie. I don't own anything. Except season 1 & 2 on DVD and my own insanity.  
**Summary:** In the middle of a case, a figure from Cameron's past arrives, creating complications and confusions in her life.  
**Author's Note:** As I said, this is my first House fanfic. The characters may be very, very OOC. It is possible. I have no medical experience, therefore anything I write is probably very wrong. I have no beta, so all mistakes are mine. No spoilers past season 2.

**Ghost From the Past  
Chapter Nine: Tough Love**

**ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc**

A tense, awkward silence persisted between Lauren and Joe on the way to Elizabeth's room. Cameron wished that she wasn't in the middle of it. She understood Lauren's pain. She'd felt the same when she'd met Stacy. Stacy was the former flame, and now Cameron was in her place. She was the woman that Joe had never gotten over. He had tried, but he'd never let Lauren in. Cameron wasn't sure that the situations were the same, though. House would always be miserable, but Joe could be happy with Lauren. He just needed to get over Cameron first.

When they reached the room, Cameron made herself busy checking on Elizabeth so that she could try and block out the sounds of the Stantons behind her.

"Lauren, I'm so glad you came," Mrs. Stanton said tearfully. "You've always cared so much about Elizabeth. Though you're a little late. She's coming home today."

Cameron stopped her examination. "She's not—"

"Emma, don't," Joe's brother said sternly. "The important thing is that she came. Thank you, Lauren."

"I would have come sooner if I'd known," Lauren said, taking Elizabeth's hand. "Hey, sweetheart. How are you?"

It was a stupid question to ask someone with a tube in their throat, but Cameron didn't miss the smile on Joe's face as he watched them or the jealousy on Mrs. Stanton's face. "She's fine. Didn't I tell you that?"

"Yes, Emma, but—"

"Who told you that she was going home today?" Cameron broke in. She looked down at Elizabeth. The poor girl wasn't getting any better. She was getting worse. "Elizabeth can't—"

Cameron broke off as Elizabeth's monitors started to scream. She was coding. Cameron grabbed some eppi from the cart and injected Elizabeth with it, pressing the code signal. She was alone. Where was Chase? She needed someone to get the Stantons out of the room, and she needed someone to help her. A nurse came in, ushering the Stantons out of the room, and another one readied the crash cart, charging it to two hundred. Cameron took the paddles and pressed them to the girl's chest.

"Please, Elizabeth," Cameron begged. "Please."

She looked at the monitor. Nothing. She ordered them to charge again, this time to two fifty, and tried again. She waited, hoping to see a spark of life again. When the monitor beeped and she saw that Elizabeth was back, Cameron felt relief wash over her. Elizabeth was going to make it. She put her stethoscope to her ears, listening. The steady rhythm made her smile, and she went to tell the Stantons.

As she reached the door, two uniformed police officers were standing there. "Mrs. Stanton, we need you to come with us."

"Why? What is this about?" The woman demanded. "My daughter is sick. I can't leave her."

"Your daughter wouldn't be sick if you weren't making her sick," House said as he came up to them. He leaned on his cane. "Which is why these nice gentlemen are here to take you away and lock you up for a very long time."

"Emma?" Joe's brother cried. "Tell me this isn't true. You wouldn't do that to Elizabeth. She's your daughter. You wouldn't—"

"I didn't!" Emma wailed, tears streaming down her face as the police escorted her away.

Cameron looked at Joe and Lauren. Their devastation and confusion was written all over their faces. They hadn't been at all prepared. No one expected their sister-in-law to poison her daughter.

"Munchausen's by proxy," Cameron whispered. She went over to House. "You thought this was Munchausen's by proxy and you didn't tell me?"

"Didn't want you telling anyone. Otherwise we wouldn't have caught her," House said. "Come on, Cameron. We need you."

"You _need_ me?" Cameron demanded, following him. "If you needed me, why did you leave me out of the diagnosis? And if she has been diagnosed, why do you need me?"

"Because," House answered. "It's not MBPS."


	10. Fractured Images

**Ghost From the Past (10?)**

Rating: PG-13 (I think)  
**Word Count:** 1,141  
**Disclaimer:** I own House. Um, right. That was a lie. I don't own anything. Except seasons 1 & 2 on DVD and my own insanity.  
**Summary:** In the middle of a case, a figure from Cameron's past arrives, creating complications and confusions in her life.  
**Author's Note:** As I said, this is my first House fanfic. The characters may be very, very OOC. It is possible. I have no medical experience, therefore anything I write is probably very wrong. I got an offer for a beta, but I didn't send this to them, so all mistakes are mine. No spoilers past season 2.

**Ghost From the Past  
Chapter Ten: Fractured Images  
cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc**

"I don't understand," Cameron repeated, "why are we doing this? Why did you arrest Mrs. Stanton if it's not MBPS?"

"It _is_ MBPS, in the sense that Mrs. Stanton did, in fact, give a drug to her eight year old daughter to induce cardiac arrest. However, it is not MBPS in the fact that the girl is not our only patient," House said, taking his marker and circling cardiac arrest, noting MBPS next to it. Then he studied the first three symptoms. "How did she induce the first symptoms?"

"She could have lied about the fatigue being caused by physical activity," Cameron said. "The headache and the fever by—"

"He's stable," Foreman said as he entered the room.

House looked up at him. "Heard that from Wilson already. Where have you been?"

"I had to meet with Cuddy and the police about the surveillance we did on Mrs. Stanton," Foreman answered, sitting down. "They kept asking how we knew. There wasn't much of a history for it. I told them it wasn't my idea."

"Big of you. Also irrelevant," House said dismissively.

"There _is_ a history," Cameron interrupted. "Chase made notes from the history I took. Elizabeth was a miracle child, came along just in time to save their marriage. Elizabeth was healthy most of the time. But then they had some fights and Elizabeth got sick. They blamed themselves. Swore they wouldn't fight again. She learned he would stay if Elizabeth got sick. She didn't want him to leave, so she made her daughter sick."

"Sounds twisted," House observed. "Wonder why Chase didn't say anything."

"Maybe because he knew you wouldn't listen," Cameron said.

"Or maybe because it's a little hard to speak with a tube in your mouth," Foreman suggested, heading for the coffee pot.

"What?" Cameron demanded, confused.

"House, you didn't tell her?" Foreman asked, setting down his coffee cup. "How could you not tell her?"

"Tell me what?"

Foreman looked at her with pity. And suddenly, it all came rushing to her. House had mentioned a _second_ patient. She hadn't even thought about it, though she knew it was Chase. She hadn't been willing to face it. And for House to call him a patient, that meant that Chase had progressed to the fourth symptom.

Cardiac arrest.

"What happened? How is he?" She asked. "Where is he?"

"You see, _that_ is why I didn't tell her," House said in exasperation. "Now she won't be able to think about the case. She'll only think about Chase."

Foreman ignored him. "He's stable. He's up here. House wouldn't let him be put in the ICU."

"He's my patient," House insisted. "Speaking of which, someone has to check on him. Foreman, why don't you—"

"I'm going," Cameron said, getting to her feet.

ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

House was right. Cameron wasn't thinking like a doctor. If she were thinking like a doctor, she would have checked his chart and then examined him, listening to his chest and checking his reflexes. She didn't check Chase over. She sat down in the chair next to the bed and took his hand.

She was thinking like a loved one, a friend. She couldn't turn it off, couldn't start thinking like a doctor. She knew that doctors did not treat patients that they cared about. And she knew why. They couldn't stop being the loved one. They couldn't be the doctor.

"How is he?" Lauren asked from the doorway.

Cameron stroked Chase's hand. She didn't look up at Lauren. She'd hoped to have more time alone with Chase before House dragged her away. "He's stable."

"So is Elizabeth," Lauren said. "Joe and Pete… They're not. What Emma did—They can't believe it."

"But you can?"

"She was jealous. She didn't like my friendship with Elizabeth. It was fine for Joe and Pete to worry over Elizabeth. Not me." Lauren sighed. "I just thought she was jealous of the attention. It didn't seem like anything much at the time, but now…"

"Hindsight is 20-20." Cameron hadn't meant for it to be so snippy, but it was. She closed her eyes. Maybe Lauren would just go… Then Cameron realized she was squeezing Chase's hand and loosened her grip.

"Do you love him?" Lauren asked suddenly.

Cameron jerked her head up. "Who? Chase?"

Lauren smiled briefly, but shook her head. "No. Joe. I need to know if you love Joe. I want him to be happy. But if you don't love him…"

"You want me to tell him that I don't."

Lauren nodded. "All this time, he's held on to the hope of maybe. Maybe you felt the same. Maybe if he met you again, things would be different. Maybe this time would be the right time. It kept him from moving on. But if maybe was actually no, then just maybe he could move on… with me."

Cameron sighed, looking down at Chase. She combed his hair back from his face. It was hard watching him on a respirator. "I wish I could give you a simple answer. Yes or no. But it's more complicated than that. Five years ago, my husband died. Joe was his best friend, and he was all I had. I…fell in love with him. But I never acted on what I felt. I couldn't have lived with myself if I'd betrayed my husband. I went away, and I thought it was all behind me. Then Joe came, and suddenly, it was all back. Yet, it wasn't. I don't know him anymore. He doesn't know me. He doesn't understand my job or how I can work for House. Maybe we could make it work, but maybe we couldn't. I don't know."

"I'd give him all the time he needed," Lauren whispered. "He is the love of my life, and I'd wait as long as it took."

Cameron looked at her. "You shouldn't put your life on hold for him."

Lauren shrugged. "What life do I have without him? I love him. I love Elizabeth. I want to grow old with Joe, want to have children like Elizabeth. I can't see myself with anyone else. Can you?"

Could she? Cameron knew she could. She had. She'd pictured herself with House, trying to ignore how unhappy she was and how she felt like she'd failed when he didn't change. She'd even pictured herself with Chase after their first disastrous night together. She'd pictured them waking up together, driving into work together, and sharing a cup of coffee before House came in to ruin their day. She smiled.

"You can," Lauren said, her voice full of hope. Cameron looked at her, pitying her. Just because she could picture herself with someone other than Joe didn't mean that Lauren would get what she wanted. "Can you picture yourself with him… With Chase?"

Cameron's grip on Chase's hand tightened. "Yes."


	11. Unanswered Questions

**Ghost From the Past (11/?)**

**Rating:** PG-13 (I think)  
**Word Count:** 990  
**Disclaimer:** I own House. Um, right. That was a lie. I don't own anything. Except seasons 1 & 2 on DVD and my own insanity.  
**Summary:** In the middle of a case, a figure from Cameron's past arrives, creating complications and confusions in her life.  
**Author's Note:** As I said, this is my first House fanfic. The characters may be very, very OOC. It is possible. I have no medical experience, therefore anything I write is probably very wrong. I got an offer for a beta, who saw the first part, but not the second, so all other mistakes are mine. No spoilers after season 2.

**Ghost From the Past  
Chapter Eleven: Unanswered Questions**  
ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

"Ask your boyfriend if his other girlfriend gave him something to eat or drink," House ordered, leaning into the doorway.

"Joe is not my boyfriend," Cameron said, rolling her eyes. Of course, House would say something like that just to get a rise out of her, because she hadn't listened when he sent Foreman to check on Chase.

"Not him. Sleeping Beauty over there. Woke him up and find out if she gave him anything, food, drink, _anything._" House said.

"You want me to inject him with a stimulant?" She asked incredulously. "We have _no _idea what caused this. We can't give him a stimulant. We could—"

"I know. Do it anyway."

"No," Cameron folded her arms across her chest. She stared at House, unwilling to back down. There was no way that she was letting them give Chase anything.

"Do you want him to die?" House demanded. "I _knew_ this would happen. You've gone and gotten all involved, and now you can't do your job. If this were any other patient, you'd do it. You'd do it because I told you to, but because this is Chase—"

"Because this is Chase, you're not doing anything. When he wakes up—and he will wake up—then you can ask," Cameron said.

House left the room, muttering to himself about women and hormones. Cameron smiled to herself. She turned to Chase. "You see, I _can_ say no to House. Bet you never thought you'd see that."

She took Chase's hand again. She wished he'd been able to respond to her joke, but she smiled anyway. House would be back, demanding to give Chase an injection. Or he might make Foreman do it. She wondered if Foreman would go through with it.

She touched Chase's forehead again. It seemed cooler. Maybe that was an illusion, but she took a small measure of comfort from it. Chase was getting better. He'd regain consciousness soon.

Of course, when he did, she needed to have a long talk with him about what he'd said to Joe. He had no right to interfere. She looked at him. "You are in trouble, Chase. I wish you were awake. I'd like to know what you thought you were doing."

She squeezed his hand again. "But then, you have plenty of time to explain."

"Cameron?" Foreman asked, coming into the room. "Is he awake?"

"No," she answered, shaking her head. "Did House send you?"

"Yeah. He wants me to wake Chase. I told him that I wouldn't let him." Cameron said. "I think his fever is going down."

Foreman grabbed a thermometer and checked. "You're right. It's down."

She smiled again. "Then he should wake up soon."

ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

"Allison."

Another visitor was in the doorway. This time it was Joe. She stood up, letting go of Chase's head. She straightened her blouse and brushed her hair back, off the shoulders. She had done something with her hair earlier, and then Foreman had given her an odd look. She was probably a complete mess by now.

"Joe. How is Elizabeth?"

"Shouldn't you know, Allison? You're her doctor." Joe said, watching her. She frowned. Where did this animosity come from? And then she knew. It was because she was with Chase. And if she continued to work for House with Chase, Joe would never stop feeling jealous. There were times when she thought Chase was jealous of House, but he wasn't as unreasonable as Joe was right now. If he really was jealous, Chase understood that he had no claim; he never pushed. She could still work with Chase, but she wasn't sure that she could live with Joe. Not unless this stopped.

"Elizabeth is not my only patient, and I am not her only doctor," Cameron told him. "And this has to stop. You're not my boyfriend, and even if you were, I couldn't live with your jealousy?"

"Could you live with his?" Joe demanded, looking at Chase. "He told me to stay away from you."

"He had no right. And we will talk about it when he wakes up," Cameron said firmly. "But that's my point, Joe. You're being unreasonable. I work with Chase. If you can't accept him as a part of my life, there's no point in trying."

"I know how he feels about you," Joe said bluntly. "How do you feel about him? Because it seems to me you care more than you're saying."

"I don't know," she said. "I don't know how I feel about Chase, and I don't know how I feel about you. But you're not helping by being jealous. And then there's Lauren. You didn't even mention that you were dating anyone. If you don't have to tell me about Lauren, I don't have to tell you about Chase."

"It wasn't like that. Lauren's not—"

"You've been dating for two years, Joe. She loves you. If you can just walk away from her without a thought, then I don't want you."

"Allison—"

"Joe, please go," she pleaded. "This is—I don't want to fight. Just go."

"Okay," Joe agreed reluctantly. He turned to leave and then stopped. "For what it's worth, Allison, I hope he's okay."

"Me, too," Cameron said, taking Chase's hand. "Joe, wait. Did you see Emma give Chase anything? Food? A drink?"

Joe shook his head. "No. Not Chase. She gave you those cookies, though."

"The cookies?" Cameron asked, horrified.


	12. Mea Culpa

**Ghost From the Past (12?)**

**Rating:** PG-13 (I think)  
**Word Count:** 908  
**Disclaimer:** I own House. Um, right. That was a lie. I don't own anything. Except seasons 1 & 2 on DVD and my own insanity.  
**Summary:** In the middle of a case, a figure from Cameron's past arrives, creating complications and confusions in her life.  
**Author's Note:** As I said, this is my first House fanfic. The characters may be very, very OOC. It is possible. I have no medical experience, therefore anything I write is probably very wrong. I got an offer for a beta, who went over this part. :) No spoilers after season 2.

**Ghost From the Past  
Chapter Twelve: Mea Culpa**

**ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc**

"_This is ridiculous," Chase muttered irritably. He shuffled through the papers in his hands. "How many tests is House going to make us do?"_

"_Chase a little girl is sick. We'll do as many tests as we need to do until we figure out what's wrong with her," Cameron answered, taking one of the sheets from him. When she read that the results were negative, she sighed, taking off her glasses._

"_I knew I shouldn't have said anything to you," Chase said, dropping the file next to the microscope. _

_She looked at him. "What is that supposed to mean?"_

"_Her symptoms are fatigue, headache, and fever. That could be any one of thousands of things. It could be a cold. The only reason House is interested is because the antibiotics didn't work," Chase said. He looked at Cameron. "And until you found out who her uncle was, you agreed that most of those tests were expensive and pointless."_

"_Chase—"_

"_Look, isn't it better if I'm right? If she just has a bad cold?" He asked. "There's no mystery, but she's not going to die. That should make you happy."_

"_Yes. It would," she agreed. "But I feel like there's something more."_

"_Did you feel like that before House decided she had something more than an infection?" Chase asked. It was unfair. Cameron had been the one that saw Elizabeth in the clinic. She'd sent her home with a prescription for antibiotics._

"_Chase—"_

_He sighed. "I'm sorry, Cameron. It's just that we've been at this for hours without so much as a break. I haven't slept or eaten in hours."_

"_None of us has," she said. He was rude, but at least he'd apologized. And he was cranky. "Why don't you take a break? Get some coffee."_

"_Can't," Chase said, looking at his watch. "I've got to take Elizabeth for a CT scan in five minutes."_

"_Five minutes?" Cameron asked. Frowning. She dug in her pocket. "Here. Take these. Mrs. Stanton brought them for Elizabeth."_

"_Cookies?" Chase asked. "Her daughter is in the hospital. I know the food's terrible, but she can't have cookies until we know what's wrong."_

"_I know. When I told her that, she said I might as well take them," Cameron told him. "Too bad Elizabeth likes coconut."_

_Chase looked at the cookies dubiously. "Coconut?"_

_Cameron laughed. "It's better than nothing."_

"_Sure," Chase agreed, pocketing the cookies._

_ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc_

"Okay. Let's focus on what we know," House began, studying the board. He had half of it devoted to Elizabeth Stanton and the other half devoted to Chase. Both sides had the same symptoms listed on it, but Elizabeth also had a diagnosis. MBPS. Chase's had a big question mark on it. "I'm assuming our little housewife insists that she never did anything to Chase."

"According to the police, she finally confessed to dosing her daughter, but she says she has no idea how Chase got sick. She denies giving him anything," Foreman said.

"And we can't ask Chase because he's unconscious," House muttered. "Which he wouldn't be if you and Cameron would _do your jobs_."

"Cameron was right. We don't know what she gave Elizabeth, and we can't prove that she gave Chase anything," Foreman defended himself.

"Right. So, back to what we know. Patient presents with fatigue, headache, and fever. Doctor says it's a cold, maybe an infection, prescribes antibiotics," House recounted. "Two days later, she's back. Fever's higher. Antibiotics aren't working."

"We run tests," Foreman continued. "No apparent cause. Chase gets sick, so you bar him from the patient. He comes up with a theory of MBPS."

"Which is?"

"Are you kidding me?" Foreman asked. "You want me to define MBPS?"

"Humor me."

Foreman sighed. "Munchausen's by proxy syndrome is a form of child abuse. The parent induces symptoms in their child for attention. They relish the role of caretaker, going so far as to _make_ an illness to treat. Most MBPS perpetrators won't admit to MBPS, even when confronted with the evidence."

"So what made our girl talk?" House asked.

"Probably the fact that the police wanted to arrest her for Chase's illness, too. Could be that means she's telling the truth about Chase," Foreman said thoughtfully.

"_Everybody lies_," House insisted. "She was poisoning her daughter, Foreman. She's not telling the truth."

"If she wanted to avoid charges of attempted murder, she might. A lawyer could argue that she's mentally unstable—"

"She isn't. MBPS perpetrators know what they're doing," House interrupted. "A part of them knows."

"But she _is_ sick—"

"It was the cookies," Cameron said, bursting into the room.

"Cookies? Sounds delicious." House said, grinning.

Foreman frowned. "What about cookies?"

"I know how Chase got sick," Cameron answered. "It was the cookies."

"Again with the cookies," House said, taking a sip of his coffee. "What kind of cookies are we talking about?"

"Coconut. Elizabeth's favorite," Cameron answered. "But that's not the point. The point is that Emma—Mrs. Stanton—was going to give them to Elizabeth. I told her that she couldn't, so she gave them to me. I thanked her, but I said I didn't like coconut, so I wouldn't eat them. She shrugged. I put them in my pocket, thinking I'd throw them out later. Then Chase was hungry, I gave them to him. It's my fault."

Foreman looked at House. House sighed and picked up his marker. On Chase's side of the board, he wrote MBPS.


	13. Give and Take

**Ghost From the Past (13/?)**

Rating: PG-13 (I think)  
**Word Count:** 1,516  
**Disclaimer:** I own House. Um, right. That was a lie. I don't own anything. Except seasons 1 & 2 on DVD and my own insanity.  
**Summary:** In the middle of a case, a figure from Cameron's past arrives, creating complications and confusions in her life.  
**Author's Note:** As I said, this is my first House fanfic. The characters may be very, very OOC. It is possible. I have no medical experience, therefore anything I write is probably very wrong. No spoilers after season 2. Since this is two days late, I'm posting it without sending it to my beta. All mistakes are mine.

**Ghost From the Past  
Chapter Thirteen: Give and Take**

**cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc  
**She stared. She couldn't help it. All she could do was stare. She watched his chest rise and fall, envying his peace, his complete oblivion. Whatever mistakes he'd made couldn't haunt him. He didn't have to feel like everything he'd done was wrong. She had been angry with him, but now she was only mad at herself. She'd done this to him. Her carelessness had caused this. A nurse had found the empty bag of cookies in the pocket of Chase's lab coat, but she'd thought nothing of it and thrown them away. They had no way of knowing what was in the cookies, what made Chase sick.

But Cameron knew it was her fault.

"You know, it might help if you talk to him," Wilson suggested, standing in the doorway. Cameron almost laughed. Now everyone had been in the doorway but Cuddy. She'd been here; of course, Cuddy felt responsible for all the doctors at the hospital. She'd visited Chase, just not while Cameron was there.

"He's unconscious," she said, not looking away from Chase.

"They say coma patients can hear. I figured you'd be someone who believed that," Wilson told her. "Besides, it isn't really for him. It's for you."

"I talk about it, get it off my chest, make myself feel better?" She asked, frowning.

"Something like that, yes," Wilson agreed. "Probably be easier for you to say what you need to say while he's unconscious. Takes the fear of rejection out of the equation."

Cameron turned to look at Wilson. He shrugged. "I used to apologize to my wife while she was asleep. The second time was always easier. I could pretend she already knew. Sometimes she did."

"Maybe you're right." Cameron smiled. She walked closer to Chase's bed and took his hand.

"I'll leave you alone," Wilson said.

"Thank you," she looked up at Wilson. He nodded and left. She sat down next to the bed. "Chase, I don't know if you can hear me, but I need to tell you…I need to tell you that I'm sorry. This week… I've been so confused. I made some bad decisions, but I never meant to hurt you. Not with…

"I know now that I used you, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I was trying to avoid how I felt," she told him, and she imagined for a minute that he stirred.

"Chase, you have to get better. You have to… I couldn't… I couldn't bear it if you didn't… Chase… the cookies… this is all my fault."

She lowered her head. Tears were welling in her eyes. "I'm sorry. Chase…"

She laid her head next to him. She couldn't look at him anymore. He was unconscious, but she still felt like he would accuse her. She couldn't face him. And then she felt him squeeze her hand.

"Chase?"

cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

He opened his eyes. She was the first thing that he saw; so beautiful that he thought that he was dreaming. A mirage, that's what she was. Her hair was coming loose from its ponytail, and her blouse was rumpled. Had she been here long, watching over him? Of course. This was Cameron, and Cameron cared too much about everyone. She would be there, waiting for him to wake up like she waited for everyone, even strangers. It didn't mean anything, no matter how much he might want it to.

Then he saw that she had been crying. Why? He frowned, remembering having heard her voice. _This is all my fault. I'm so sorry._ Did she actually think that his illness was her fault? That was absurd. She hadn't given him anything. House was convinced that Chase had the same thing as Elizabeth, but Foreman had said that Mrs. Stanton caused Elizabeth's illness. This didn't make sense.

He squeezed Cameron's hand. He tried to speak, but couldn't. _Right, moron, there's a tube in your throat._ Cameron looked up at him. "Chase?"

He pointed to the tube. She nodded. "I'll take it out. Just a second."

He waited impatiently for her to remove the tube. His throat ached. How long had he been out? Cameron offered him water, and he drank gratefully. "What happened?"

"You went into cardiac arrest. You've been unconscious for about a day," she told him.

He shook his head. "Not that. What happened to you?"

"Me? Nothing. I'm fine."

He looked at her, accepted another sip of water. "No, you're not. You were crying. What happened? Is Elizabeth—"

"She's fine. She regained consciousness a couple of hours ago. She doesn't understand what happened to her, but she'll be okay. They arrested Mrs. Stanton. Pretty much everyone is in shock. They don't understand how she could do that."

"Joe?" Chase's throat hurt too much to say more.

"He's pretty shaken," Cameron agreed.

"Not what I meant." Chase shook his head again. She looked away guiltily. He reached for her hand. "It isn't your fault."

She jerked away, staring at him in shock. Her mouth hung open like a fish for a few seconds before she was able to speak. "You _heard_ me?"

"Just…that," he told her. "Whatever it is, it isn't your fault."

"You don't know that," she said tearfully. "It _is_ my fault. I should never have given you those cookies. The ones Mrs. Stanton made. Only Elizabeth would eat them. That's why she used them to induce the illness. Whatever she used didn't show up on a tox screen, and since someone threw away the bag that was in your pocket, we'll probably never know what it was. But it seems to have left your system."

Chase blinked, confused. "The cookies?"

"The coconut ones. Remember, I gave them to you before Elizabeth's first CT scan," Cameron prompted.

"Oh, those cookies," he said. "I'd forgotten."

_He'd seen thirty patients in two hours. And House had_ _tried to burst in on at least ten of them. This was ridiculous. The man was a bloody menace. And Chase didn't dare leave the clinic or House would try to talk him out of quitting. Chase reached into his pocket. Oh, yeah. He still had those cookies that Cameron had given him. They tasted off, but they were better than nothing._

_He took a bite and made another note on the chart._

Chase shook off the memory and looked at Cameron. "That wasn't your fault."

"Yes, it was," she insisted.

"No," he repeated firmly. "You may have given them to me, but you weren't the one that laced them with a drug. Mrs. Stanton did that. You gave me the cookies, but I chose to eat them. I even ate more when I knew they tasted wrong. That was my fault."

"Chase—"

"I'm sorry," he told her. "Cameron, I—I asked Joe to give you some space. Probably sounded like I was telling him to leave you alone. I was worried about you, but it wasn't my place. I'm sorry."

Cameron stared at him in shock. She made a few movements, sniffling and wiping her cheeks, but she seemed unaware of them. She shook her head. "I wasn't expecting you to apologize. I was supposed to apologize to you."

"We all make mistakes," Chase told her. Her continued disbelief made him wonder if he was suffering from a personality shift after a near death experience. He was arrogant. He only admitted to mistakes when he was cornered.

"Yes, but—the cookies—you could have died—"

"Let it go," he insisted. "It's okay."

But it wasn't okay. He wanted to kiss her, and he couldn't. It was not okay.

cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

"I take it back," House said, leaning in the doorway. "You can quit."

"What?" Cameron asked in confusion.

Chase looked at House in disbelief. Earlier today—no, it was yesterday—House hadn't been willing to let Chase quit. He'd followed Chase around the clinic, barged in on patients, and yelled, banging on the door. Now he was telling Chase that he could go. Without a fight.

"Wait a minute, why did you change your mind?" Chase demanded, stopping House from leaving the room. House turned back, taking a couple of steps into the room.

"I was keeping you here because you were sick," House answered. "You're not sick anymore. You can go."

"That's not why," Foreman said from the doorway. Chase looked up. Foreman, Wilson, and Cuddy were all there. Chase sighed. He'd needed more time alone with Cameron. He needed to talk to House without everyone around. "Good to see you're awake, Chase."

Chase nodded, and Cameron squeezed his hand insistently. "What is he talking about, Chase? Are you quitting?"

Chase opened his mouth to speak, but House interrupted. "Chase here said he was quitting earlier. Or maybe it was the disease talking."

"I ate bad cookies. I was poisoned. I didn't catch Elizabeth's illness because it wasn't contagious. She had MBPS," Chase said angrily.

"Which is why he wants you to quit," Foreman explained. "He was wrong. You were right."

"And he'll never live it down," Cuddy added.

"Chase," Cameron interrupted. "Did you really say you were quitting?"

"Yes."


	14. Decisions, Decisions

I haven't been able to update lately, given my busy work schedule, my computer getting a virus, and then being in a lot of pain, but I finally got this typed and ready to post, minus sending it to a beta.

**Ghost From the Past (14/15)  
**  
**Rating:** PG-13 (I think)  
**Word Count:** 1,910  
**Disclaimer:** I own House. Um, right. That was a lie. I don't own anything. Except seasons 1 & 2 on DVD and my own insanity.  
**Summary:** In the middle of a case, a figure from Cameron's past arrives, creating complications and confusions in her life.  
**Author's Note:** As I said, this is my first House fanfic. The characters may be very, very OOC. It is possible. I have no medical experience, therefore anything I write is probably very wrong. No spoilers after season 2. Since this is three days late, I'm posting it without sending it to my beta. All mistakes are mine.

**Ghost From the Past  
Chapter Fourteen: Decisions, Decisions**

**cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc**

_Chase is quitting. Chase is quitting. He's leaving the hospital. He's leaving me._ The thought reverberated through Cameron's head. She couldn't think about anything else. She couldn't hear anything. She knew that the room was crowded, but the only person that she saw was Chase. She could think of no one else, nothing else but Chase leaving her. Hadn't his cardiac arrest been enough to make her realize that her life would be like without him? So why did his quitting bother her more than his cardiac arrest?

Because quitting was a choice. His choice. He was _choosing_ to leave her.

And that hurt.

The weight crushed her chest, making it hard to breathe. She couldn't focus like this. She squeezed Chase's hand, silently begging for help.

"I need to speak to Cameron alone," Chase's voice broke through Cameron's chaos. She was thinking clearer, but she still could hardly breathe. "Please."

She swallowed hard, watching the others leave. All except House. She stared at him. She wanted him to go, but she couldn't ask. Chase's hand was the only thing she had. She couldn't say what she needed to say. She could only hope that Chase could figure it out.

"House, go," Chase insisted. "Just—go."

Cameron watched House leave. He'd considered staying, but for once, House seemed to acknowledge that they needed the time alone. After a moment, Chase squeezed her hand. "Cameron, I told House that I was quitting, but I haven't left yet. I'm not sure that I _am_ leaving."

"Don't," was all she could manage to say.

"I'm not sure I can stay," he told her. "It could be—it would be easier if I left. Easier for me. For you. Because I love you, Cameron. And I know that you don't love me."

She heard him speak, and the weight on her chest seemed lighter. Why should it? She had known that he loved her before. Why was it so different to hear it from him? _He loves me._

"Chase—"

"I like my job, Cameron," Chase interrupted. "I want to keep my job. I've done things that—which I shouldn't have been forgiven for. I lied. I betrayed. I was a jerk. I _want_ this job. But every day I would see you. Every day I would work with you. I _love_ you, so I want to see you every day, even if I knew I couldn't be with you. But then I'd see you with Joe. Know you were with Joe. It would hurt. And then there's your side, Cameron. You don't want a love sick wombat following you around."

She laughed. She couldn't help it. "Chase, you're _not_ a wombat"

She wanted to kiss him. She knew that it would be a terrible idea. If she kissed him, he would take it the wrong way. She couldn't let him take it the wrong way. She stepped back, letting go of his hand. "Chase—"

"I'd like to ask you to make the decision," he told her. "Ask you if you wanted me to go or stay. But it's not fair to ask you to do that. The decision is mine. And I have to make it myself."

"Chase," she began, afraid that he would cut her off before she could say what she needed to say. "I don't want you to go."

He nodded. "Thank you for telling me, Cameron."

"I—I should go," Cameron whispered. "I—You need time to make a decision."

cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

_Time heals all wounds._ That was what they said. Time hadn't healed Cameron's wounds. Five years later, she was still missing her husband and conflicted about Joe. But maybe that was because she hadn't actually dealt with any of it. She had run from it. Now it had caught up with her. A decision had to be made. She had to face this. In a perfect world, Cameron would love Chase, and Joe would love Lauren. Instead, Lauren loved Joe, but Joe loved Cameron, Chase loved Cameron, and Cameron didn't know what she felt. Or what to do.

_Cameron, you've really screwed this up,_ she told herself and then stopped. She'd thought… she'd thought that she shared a greater intimacy with Joe because he called her "Allison." But in the years since she'd know Joe, she'd become Dr. Cameron. She was used to people calling her Cameron. She'd even begun to think of herself as Cameron, not Allison. This would be different. _She _was different.

She wasn't sure why it had taken her so long to see it. She was not the same person who had fallen in love with Joe five years ago. Joe loved a person that no longer existed. And it wasn't fair for her to let him think she did.

She went to find Joe. He was in Elizabeth's room, watching Lauren and Elizabeth play Chutes and Ladders. They were laughing. Cameron looked at Joe. "She'll make a wonderful mother, Joe."

"Allison," he began in surprise, following her out into the hall.

"I prefer Cameron," she said with a smile.

"But—"

"I'm not that girl, Joe. The one that you fell in love with five years ago. That isn't me. I'm a doctor. I work long hours, follow the orders of a brilliant but flawed man that I admire and at one time wanted more from. I won't leave here, and I know you don't understand that. My only friends are here at the hospital. They've betrayed me and stolen my papers, but I forgave them. And I know you can't understand that, either.

"There _is_ a part of me that's still the Allison Cameron you knew. That's where I've come from; it's a part of me. But I _have_ changed. And I've moved on. I thought I hadn't, but I have. I loved you once, Joe. A part of me always will. But not a big enough part to let you walk away from the best thing that's ever happened to you."

"Allison—"

"Joe, I had a decision to make. I didn't make it rashly. I made it after I thought about it. I've been sitting by Chase's bed, thinking and being racked by guilt. Now I know that a part of me has been guilty over you. Because I don't feel the same," she told him, drawing in her breath. "I'm sorry."

Joe looked at her. "So am I."

cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

"I made a decision."

House would have made a crack about congratulating her, but Wilson nodded sympathetically. He knew how hard it had been for her to reach a decision. He knew how confused she'd been. And he'd helped her through it.

"I told Joe that it was over. It was over a long time ago. I don't know why I didn't see it sooner," Cameron said, sitting down in the chair opposite Wilson. She found herself staring at his desk.

"Maybe you didn't want to," Wilson suggested. "Maybe you wanted to believe there was still a chance for the two of you."

She smiled. "I did. But aren't you going to add something about me wanting to believe in a future with Joe to avoid feelings I have for someone else?"

Wilson looked at her, intrigued. Like a kid in the candy jar, he couldn't help his grin. "Are you?"

She laughed at his enthusiasm. She couldn't help teasing him. "I'm thinking of asking House for another date."

_That _got Wilson to choke on his coffee. "You…and House?"

She smiled and stood, folding her arms. "How much did you bet?"

"Bet?" Wilson was trying to play innocent, but Cameron didn't buy it for a second.

"How much did you bet that Chase and I would get together after Elizabeth's case?" She asked.

"Originally two hundred," Wilson admitted. "House went double or nothing after Chase quit. Then I countered when he went into arrest. You really don't want to know how high the pot is."

"But you want inside information, right?" Cameron asked.

"Of course," Wilson agreed. "So… You're asking House for another date? I have to tell you, it's what he wants. He wants you to still have feelings for him, to be in love with him, and not Chase or Joe."

"But only because of the bet," she said bitterly.

She saw pity in Wilson's eyes. "I've known him a long time, Cameron. He never got over Stacy."

She nodded. "I know. I knew when I saw him with her… and Joe's presence made me realize that I really was over House."

Wilson nodded. He wasn't saying anything, but she was pretty sure she knew what he was thinking. He sipped from his coffee, considering his next words. "Cameron, _were _you trying to believe in you and Joe to avoid feelings for someone else?"

She considered saying something teasing, like _yeah, Foreman,_ but she just shook her head. Smiling, she walked out of the office.

cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

"Am I pressuring you?" Cameron asked, knocking on Chase's door. He looked up at her, smiling. He shook his head. She stepped into the room.

"No," he said. "I was getting a little bored. And House thinks he needs to push his advantage since he's able to walk, and I'm stuck in this bloody bed for another day of observation. I'm going out of my bloody mind. I could use the company."

"While you go out of your mind?" she asked teasingly. "I'm not sure I'm up for that."

"You did come for a reason," he continued, watching her carefully. A part of him was glad that she had come back. He'd been afraid that she wouldn't come back once that she knew how he felt about her. "Was it to know if I'd made a decision?"

She bit her lip. "Maybe. But… I guess I had something to tell you that might have a bearing on your decision."

"I've already made a decision," he told her. He had made up his mind hours ago, had even told House his decision. "You won't change my mind."

"Not even if I tell you that I'm not dating Joe?" Cameron asked, her words coming out in a rush. He tried to hide his smile. She was cute.

"Did you tell him no so that I wouldn't quit?" Chase asked, knowing that Cameron _would_ do something like that for a friend. She _would_ sacrifice to keep her friends close. He didn't flatter himself that she'd done it because she cared for him as he did for her.

"No," she answered. "I did it because I'm not in love with him. I was, five years ago, but I am not now. And I'm not the girl that Joe loved, either."

_But you are the woman that I love_, he couldn't help thinking. He looked at her. She hadn't come close to his bed yet. She wasn't going to, either. "Cameron, I'm _not_ changing my decision. I made a decision. I talked to House already. He knows."

"Chase—"

"I know you don't want me to leave, Cameron, but I—"

"Chase, I love you."

"—Am staying here. I don't—" he broke off as he realized what she'd said. "What?"

Cameron stepped close to the bed, taking his hand in hers. "I love you."

He pulled himself up to where he could cup her face in his hand, bringing her lips to his. Behind her, he heard House curse.

"Damn, I just lost two grand to Wilson."


	15. Laid to Rest

Okay, this has been really, really hard to finish. It had to be perfect. It probably isn't. Sigh.

**Ghost From the Past (15/15)**

**Rating:** PG-13 (I think)  
**Word Count:** 1,365  
**Disclaimer:** I own House. Um, right. That was a lie. I don't own anything. Except seasons 1 & 2 on DVD and my own insanity.  
**Summary:** In the middle of a case, a figure from Cameron's past arrives, creating complications and confusions in her life.  
**Author's Note:** As I said, this is my first House fanfic. The characters may be very, very OOC. It is possible. I have no medical experience, therefore anything I write is probably very wrong. No spoilers after season 2. This was patiently beta'd, twice. But if it's not perfect, that's 100 my fault.

**Ghost From the Past**  
**Chapter Fifteen**: **Laid to Rest**

* * *

"I want a date," Cameron announced, coming into the diagnosis room. 

House turned back from the board to look at her. "We tried that once. It wasn't a good idea."

She rolled her eyes. "Not you. _Him._"

She pointed to Chase. He looked up from the file that he was studying. His expression was incredulous. "Excuse me?"

"I _told _you," Cameron repeated. "I want a date. You've been medically cleared and back to work for two days. And I told you I loved you."

"I said it first," he said defensively. _God, he was a bloody idiot._ He hadn't done anything since the kiss. House had interrupted. It wasn't that Chase hadn't wanted to do more, but House had kept him busy since he got out of bed.

"My point is that you've been out of your hospital bed for two days," she continued. "If you love me, why haven't we gone on a date yet?"

"Um, Cameron," Chase began, "how about this new case we've got? The case that House pulled me _out_ of my hospital bed _for?"_

Foreman looked at her, shrugging. "He's got a point, Cameron. We have been pulling some long hours lately."

"Yes, because _someone_ can't stand that I chose Chase," Cameron said, slipping her hand into Chase's under the table. He looked at her in surprise.

"Spare me the mental images of you two together," House interrupted. "It would be nice if someone would diagnose the _patient_. It's what you get paid for."

"It's lupus," Foreman insisted.

Chase leaned over to Cameron's ear. "How about Saturday? We're both off. We'll make a day of it?"

"Sounds good," Cameron agreed softly and then raised her voice. "I'll go test for lupus."

"It's not lupus," House called after her.

"You've been wrong before," Chase said, getting to his feet. He had plans to make, and Foreman was right. It was lupus. House just didn't want to admit it. He'd come up with a diagnosis that used a similar treatment to that of lupus, so that he could keep them busy, cure the patient, and still be right.

Foreman caught up to Chase outside the room. "You really think House is wrong?"

"He made this case more interesting than it was so that he could get me out of bed early. He's been assigning us useless tests to keep us occupied. And we all know he's pissed about that two grand he lost to Wilson. It's complete bollocks," Chase answered.

"So, you're not going to run the tests House assigned you?" Foreman asked.

"I'll get Cameron to do them," Chase said. "I've got plans to make."

* * *

"Where are we going?" Cameron asked from the passenger seat in Chase's car. He'd told her to dress nice, but not too formal, and so she'd chosen a black dress with simple lines and a "v" neckline that was not too low, wearing a necklace that her husband had given her. She'd pinned half her hair up and curled the ends. Still, she felt nervous. 

She wasn't overdressed. Chase had met her with a dark suit and one of his not-so-awful shirts with a plain black tie. He gave her some flowers, ushering her to the car before she could take them inside.

He was acting kind of suspicious, but she found it romantic as well. She was hoping that he would surprise her, and he was. She'd been in the car for a while now, and she still didn't know where they were going.

"You'll see when we get there," Chase promised, smiling.

"Are you lost?" Cameron frowned. This place _did_ look familiar, but she'd thought that a few times already. She should know where they were.

"No, I'm not lost," Chase answered. "You're not thinking of jumping out of the car, are you?"

"No," she laughed. "What makes you say that?"

"You look anxious; you're practically pulling the armrest from the door," Chase said, smiling at her. Guiltily, she let go of the armrest. "My driving isn't that bad, is it?"

"No," she shook her head. "I just—I realized where we are. Chase, why are we at the cemetery?"

"I think you know," Chase said, stopping the car. He got out and crossed over to her door. He opened it for her, offering his hand. She hesitated, but after a few moments, finally accepted. She brought the flowers with her, now she knew they weren't just for her.

They walked over to the gravestone in silence, and she put the flowers on the ground. She ran her fingers over the letters, tears welling in her eyes. _Cameron._ There was space next to his name for hers. At the time, she'd wanted to be buried with him. It had been too much, losing him, falling for Joe. She touched the inscription she'd had engraved. _Loving husband and friend._ The words didn't do him justice. He had been so much more.

After a while, Chase touched her shoulder gently. She took his hand and got to her feet. She stepped into his arms, holding onto him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. "Thank you for making me come. It's been a long time."

"Five years?" Chase asked, but there was no accusation in it, only understanding.

She nodded. "I couldn't come. I couldn't face him."

"Because of how you felt about Joe?"

"Yes." Her voice sounded small even to her ears.

"Cameron," Chase began, lifting her chin up to face him. "You were alone and scared. Your husband had just died. All you had was Joe. I didn't know your husband, but if he was worthy of your love, he would understand. He might not be happy, but I think that he would understand."

"Could you?" She asked.

Chase looked at her. "I wouldn't be happy. But I love you, Cameron. That hasn't changed, wouldn't change."

"I love you, Chase," she said, holding onto him. She started to bury her head, but Chase stopped her, lowering his head down for a gentle kiss.

He wrapped an arm around her waist. "Would you tell me about him?"

She nodded and told Chase how she'd met her husband, how he'd charmed her every time they met, and the trick he'd played on her when he introduced her to Joe. She laughed and cried; even the happiest of memories was bittersweet.

"Allison?" Joe asked, and Cameron turned to see him and Lauren walking towards the grave. "I thought that was you."

"Joe?" Cameron asked. "What are you—I mean, I'm sorry, I—"

"It's okay," he smiled. "I come here once a month. Lauren's been coming with me for the past four. It's good to see you."

She smiled. "It's good to see you, too, Joe."

"I have something for you," he said, handing her an envelope. She took it, frowning. "It's an invitation to our wedding, Allison."

"Your wedding?"

Joe nodded. "You were right. Lauren is the best thing that ever happened to me. I hope you'll come. Both of you."

Cameron watched Joe and Lauren walk away and then opened the envelope. _You are invited to celebrate with us as we join our love and lives together. Joseph Aaron Stanton and Lauren Rachel Dawson._ It was an ordinary wedding invitation, except whom it was addressed to.

_Allison Cameron and Robert Chase._

"He knew," she said softly. She looked up at Chase. "He knew I would be with you."

"Are you okay, Cam—Allison?" Chase asked, looking at her in concern.

"I'm fine," she told him. And she really was. She took Chase's hand in hers and smiled up at him. "So, this _is_ a date, right?"

"I hear there's a good Italian restaurant a couple of blocks up," Chase began.

"I must be a mess," she said, reaching up to fix her hair.

"You look beautiful just the way you are," he told her.

She reached up and kissed him. She could not be more grateful to Chase. He had brought her here, and he had given her the chance to lie to rest her fears. The ghosts of the past were at peace. She could finally look to the future.


End file.
